Orange Titan, Scarlet Titania
by Dylan Millwood
Summary: Adopted from Howard blake. Formally titled "New Beginning" When a mysterious boy who has lost his memory tags along with Erza Scarlet, things get really out of hand. The only thing he remembers is his name: Naruto Uzumaki.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Naruto Uzumaki

Erza hated to be powerless. She felt frustrated and angry as she glared at the mages in front of her. A Dark Guild, she knew.

They stood in the town square, where the mages held the townspeople as hostages. She knew that if she resisted, the civilians would pay the price. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a young girl huddle closer to her mother, eyes wide in fear.

How did this happen? Erza didn't know. The events of this morning had moved too fast for her to remember. She could think about that later, right now she had bigger problems.

There were twenty of them in total. Ten mages kept the hostages in check while the others surrounded Erza. All of them were from Eisenwald, Erza knew. She also knew that they wouldn't hesitate to wipe out this town's population. She heard laughter among the mages.

"Well, well, well, looky what we have here." A voice said. Erza turned to the speaker. He was the mage on her immediate right. His hair ran long and dark over his shoulders. He wore a button up shirt and a long overcoat. He bore a nasty grin on his face. "The famous Titania, Erza Scarlet." The other mages chuckled.

Erza clenched her fists. "If you leave now, I promise I won't harm you." The mages barked with laughter.

The previous speaker wiped a tear from his eye after the laughter had subsided. He sighed "That was a good one. 'I won't harm you'" he said mimicking Erza's tone.

"But here's the thing, we have a job to do." The mage said, turning serious. "Lord Erigor wants to test Lullaby on this town. He's on his way."

Erza paled. Lullaby was one of the creations of Zeref, the most evil and powerful of all dark mages. But what worried her more was that it was in the possession of a Dark Guild. Her mind quickly started to formulate a strategy. If she could distract them long enough, she might be able to requip into something that might tip the scales. Keep them talking she thought.

"Lullaby?" She asked, pretending to be ignorant. She needed to know why and how they have acquired it.

The mage grinned evilly. "You don't know? It's a powerful artifact created by Zeref himself! With that much power, Eisenwald would be unstoppable." He turned to Erza and gave her a sympathetic look. "Sadly, none of you will live to see our glorious ascent to be the most powerful guild in Fiore."

Now it was Erza who gave a small laugh. The mage glared at her. "Is there something funny about what I said?"

"Actually, there is" Erza said. She turned to him and summoned a sword. She pointed it at him. "The number one guild in Fiore is Fairytail!" The mages of Eisenwald looked to one another uneasily. Was she planning to fight? They knew that even all twenty of them were no match for her.

"Ah, ah; not so fast, Titania." The mage earlier held up his hand, "Earth magic: Flat Plain!" The ground shook violently as a gigantic part of the town was ripped from the ground. A perfect square of earth the size of a house levitated above the townspeople. "Now, if you so much as lift a finger, then these people get flattened."

Erza knew they weren't bluffing. Any mage from a dark guild would not hesitate to harm innocent people whether it was for their mission or simply for the sheer enjoyment. Erza hated it, but she let her sword disappear. She let her arms fall to her sides. "I surrender, just don't hurt them."

The mage grinned. "Oh, Erza, we won't hurt them." His grin turned into an insane smile. "We'll do so much more than that."

"You coward!" Erza shouted.

He started to laugh, but then one of the townspeople stood up. "Why? Why do you need to hurt these people just for power?"

They all turned to the new speaker.

He was tall with nicely tanned skin, marks on his cheeks that resembled three whisker marks on each, and bright yellow hair that was spiky and stuck up in all directions like the spines of a sea urchin. He had on a slim, form fitting orange tracksuit outfit with black on the upper shoulders area and the color extending from around the neck and shoulders, down the front and sleeves, as well as around the waist, a white swirl on the left side, a red swirl crest on the back, orange pants, his feet were covered by black sandals that covered the instep and ankles, yet left his toes and heels exposed and the pouches at his waist and thigh were black. So was the headband he had on around his forehead with a metal plate and swirled arrow symbol of some sort.

What really caught Erza's attention were his eyes. They were light blue and (in Erza's opinion) complimented his handsome face quite nicely. He stood glaring at the mages of Eisenwald.

"Who are you suppose to be?" The earth mage questioned. The youth thought for a moment as if he wasn't sure himself.

"I'm Naruto," He finally said. "Naruto Uzumaki."

"Well, Naruto, as I said before we don't want just power, we want to BE the most powerful."

Naruto cast his eyes down. "This is why there is always conflict, where everyone loses." He muttered. Naruto looked up to the earth mage, a new look in his eyes. "I'll repeat what Erza said." He spoke to everyone in general. "Leave now and no one gets hurt."

The mages just laughed again. "You people really don't get it!" The earth mage said.

What happened next was so fast that if Erza had blinked, she would have missed it. Naruto came up to the earth mage with incredible speed and slammed his fist into the mage's gut. He followed it with an uppercut that sent the mage flying. The mage didn't even have time to cry out in alarm. He landed next to his comrades, blood ran down the corner of his mouth.

"That's it!" The injured mage snarled, stretched his hand out. "Earth magic: release!"

"No!" Erza shouted as the rock began to descend. The townspeople screamed. Naruto appeared in the middle of the hostages and made a hand sign with two fingers from each hand and formed a cross. "Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!" A massive puff of smoke appeared as the rock landed. When the smoke cleared Erza was shocked to see over fifty copies of Naruto holding their hands above their heads, struggling under the weight of the rock.

"Impossible!" The earth mage exclaimed. "Who are you?"

All the Narutos just grinned. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

By that time, all of the townspeople had escaped. Naruto looked at Erza while still holding the massive rock. "All yours."

Erza nodded and turned to Eisenwald who was trembling with fear. "Requip!"

Erza was wrapped in golden light and when it faded she was in her Fairy armor holding two swords. It was payback time she knew and the mages knew it as well.

The earth mage turned to his guild members. "Well? Attack! " He ordered, but even his voice showed hesitation. The guild members hesitated a moment and charged. But they never reached Erza. She summoned her swords "Heaven's Pinwheel!"

The blades circled each other and then launched themselves at the mages. Eisenwald never stood a chance. They each gave their own shout of pain then collapsed. The townspeople cheered. Erza noticed a retreating figure running into the woods.

"This isn't over yet, Titania!" The earth mage called over his shoulder and within moments he was gone.

Erza requipped back into her usual armor. She was deciding whether or not to go after the mage when a voice called out: "Um, can someone give me a hand here? This rock is pretty heavy." She completely forgot about Naruto who was still under the weight of a massive rock. She summoned her black wing armor that gave her additional attack power and sliced the stone in half. The clones dispersed and the two halves of rock fell on either sides of the original Naruto.

Naruto bent over, placed his hands on his knees and started to catch his breath. Erza approached him and he looked up to face her.

"Thank you for the assist, back there," Erza said. "If you hadn't intervened, who knows what might have happened."

He grinned up at her. "Anything for a pretty lady," He said slightly out of breath. The small compliment was enough to make Erza blush. This was met with another grin from the blonde. Naruto straightened and held out his hand. "I'm Naruto, by the way."

Erza shook his hand. "Erza, Erza Scarlet," She replied.

"Nice to meet you, Erza-chan! "Naruto smiled. He liked to smile a lot, Erza thought.

Erza decided to stay in town for the rest of the day. She insisted on helping the people fix their town, but they refused, insisting that she had done more than enough. After the battle, the mayor gave her an additional ten thousand jewel.

"I cannot accept this." She tried to explain. The mayor waved his hand dismissively.

"We have more than enough money from our harvests. Now that you've defeated the monster that has been terrorizing our fields, we'll make twice as much. Take it as a token of good will." That was as far as the discussion went. As she was leaving the mayor's office, something stopped her.

"One last question, where does Naruto live? " Erza inquired.

The mayor frowned. "The man who helped you? "

Erza nodded. The mayor answered "To be honest I've never seen him before today."

"What? You mean he's not from here?" Erza said. After the introductions, he politely excused himself, saying he had something to do. Erza hadn't seen him since.

The mayor nodded. "He came into town this morning, wandering the market square. He seemed lost for some reason."

Erza pondered at that for a moment, when the mayor spoke again. "Why do you ask?"

"I just wanted to thank him again for earlier."

"Well if you find him, give him my thanks as well. He saved my wife and as well as everyone else."

"I will." Erza promised.

By late afternoon, Erza had left the town and found herself on the road again. It was a rural place, so there were no means of transportation until she reached the next town. She lugged her heavy cart full of her stuff and the decorated monster horn. She kept walking until she heard someone calling her name. "Erza-chan!"

She turned and was surprised to see that Naruto was running toward her and stopped next to her. He held a rucksack over his shoulder and was panting slightly.

"Mayor said you left." Naruto said. "Mind if I tag along?"

"I wouldn't mind some company." Erza said thoughtfully. "Where are you headed?" she asked as they started walking.

"Wherever you are, since I'm just drifting from place to place." He replied. Erza stared. Naruto put his hands behind his head and continued walking. He noticed Erza's huge luggage and made a face. "Do you really need all of this stuff?"

"Yes"

"What for?"

"Just because,"

"Because of what?" From that point on, Erza knew it was going to be a long journey home.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Recollections

That night, they decided to camp in the forest. It was still another day's journey to the next town where they could catch a train back to Magnolia. Naruto sat by the fire contentedly feeling the warmth it gave. Erza sat across from him, double checking the map she carried with her to make sure they were on the right track. They had just finished eating their dinner which consisted of some grilled fish that Naruto had caught by a small stream earlier and some delicacies Erza bought before leaving town.

Erza finally put the map down and broke the silence. "If my estimations are correct, we should be back home by early morning the day after tomorrow." She stretched into a more comfortable position and continued eating the other half of her strawberry cake. One of her very favorites, Naruto noticed.

He continued to stare at the tongues of flame that provided them heat, one word kept echoing through his head: Home.

Before the confrontation with the mages, Naruto had woken that morning in a small clearing in the forest near the town.

But that wasn't the disturbing part. Naruto had no idea how he ended up there, and more importantly, had no memories of before waking up.

He wandered through the town, asking random people where he was and how did he get there. The only thing he had on him was a forehead protector with a strange insignia on it, a small pouch filled with scrolls and some shuriken, and a kunai was hidden in his right sleeve. Naruto felt helpless, confused and alone. That's when the mages showed up.

Naruto still couldn't get over the fact that the girl sitting across from him took out twenty mages without even trying. He was shaken out of his thoughts when Erza gave a wide yawn and laid down to look at the stars. Naruto found himself staring at the girl. She was definitely beautiful, no doubt about that. Her long red hair spread across the ground as she looks towards the sky. Her brown eyes were fierce, but Naruto also saw kindness in them. He questioned her fashion choice, though: armor that covered her upper body and a blue skirt. An odd choice of clothing, but the woman was beautiful none the less. Only Erza could make an upper half of armor and skirt look attractive.

"Erza-chan, can I ask you something?" Naruto inquired. She turned to look at him. "What's Fairy tail like?"

She smiled. "Well for a start it's a family. Unlike the other mage's guilds, we treat each other as family. Second, it's a place that you can call home. Where you feel safe and you can be yourself." She began to recount her past experiences with the guild. There was the time when a boy named Natsu thought he found a real dragon egg, but turned out to be a flying cat when it hatched, the time when she taught Natsu how to read, her constant rivalry with a girl called Mirajane, and a bunch of other crazy adventures.

Naruto sighed. "That sounds nice"

Erza sat up and looked at him. "Do you remember what your home was like?"

Naruto frowned and shook his head, "I can't for some reason."

"You don't remember anything?" Erza asked. Naruto shook his head again. No matter how hard he tried to remember, the memory slipped away.

"You ever forget something that it's on the tip of your tongue but you still forget? It's just like that, but with my whole life." Naruto said. Erza bit her lip in thought. Then she snapped her fingers as if she had an idea. "I know! Maybe master Makarov can help you."

"Who's that?" Naruto asked.

"He's the guild master of Fairy tail. He is very powerful and wise; maybe he can solve your memory problem."

Naruto pondered that and shrugged, "It's worth a shot, at least. If it doesn't work, then I'm no worse off than I already am, and it means I get to spend more time with you."

"Then it's settled." Erza said. Even in the firelight, Naruto could see a small blush on her cheeks. They sat in silence for a while when Erza spoke again. "I just hope whatever Eisenwald is planning isn't too dangerous."

Naruto remembered the earth mage raving about Lullaby and someone named Erigor. He may not have liked it, but there were always men who wanted to be superior to others, men who craved power and would do anything to achieve it. He had a feeling the worst was yet to come and they weren't finished with Eisenwald yet. "What is Lullaby exactly?"

"I'm not sure myself, but it is a dark and evil magic. In the wrong hands, who knows what it could do." Erza explained.

"Nothing good" Naruto guessed. Erza nodded.

"Well, if you're thinking of another crack at them then I want in." Naruto claimed. He slammed his fist into his palm. "I've got a score to settle with them for ruining my day."

Erza couldn't help but smile at his antics. "You remind me of Natsu, always charging into things without thinking."

Naruto pondered at this, maybe he'd get to meet this person sometime, then. She repositioned herself to lay on her side. "We should get some sleep. Good night."

"Good night, Erza-chan." Naruto said as he laid his head against a log and closed his eyes. Within a few minutes, sleep overcame him.

 _He stood in a large clearing, surrounded by trees. Behind him was a small lake. He felt younger. Beside him two other kids were with him, a raven haired boy with an arrogant look and a cute pink haired girl. Standing in front of them was an older man._

 _He wore some kind of flack jacket and a mask that covered most of his face. His silver white hair shot upward as if it defied gravity. They all wore the similar forehead protectors._

 _The man held out two silver bells. "I have two silver bells in my hand. Your task today is simple: take these bells from me before noon or you won't get lunch. In which case if all three of you fail you will be tied to these posts" He gestured to three wooden posts to their right-"In which case all of you watch as I eat my lunch." The three kids felt their stomachs growling._

 _"If you fail to get a bell, then I will send you back to the academy for some more training." He continued. "You can use any method you want to get a bell."_

 _"But sensei there are only two bells!" the girl protested._

 _The man only grinned as the meaning sunk in. "That's right, one of you will be going back to the academy no matter what."_

 _"That's not fair!" Naruto exclaimed loudly._

 _The man pressed the timer on the clock and set it for noon. Naruto felt impatient. "I don't have time for this, let's go!"_

 _He drew a kunai and was ready to charge but was stopped when their sensei appeared behind him and held his wrist, pointing the weapon he was holding directly behind his head. The three kids didn't even get the chance to react. He was so fast._

 _"Now, don't get impatient." Their sensei said. "I didn't say start yet."_

 _The three young trainees tensed. "Ready...start."_

The following morning, they decided to head out early. They reached the next town just as the sun was rising and bought two train tickets. The train gave a loud whistle signaling its departure before pulling out of the station.

Naruto stared at the rolling landscape as the train sped by. Erza sat opposite to him, doing the same.

"You know, Naruto, I've been thinking," Erza said pulling Naruto's attention away from the window. "maybe you shouldn't come with me to help deal with Eisenwald."

"What made you say that?" Naruto asked.

"Well, seeing as you're not a part of any guild, I don't know how the council will reflect on this." Erza admitted.

Naruto gave her a confident grin. "Then I'll just have to keep from get noticed by the council then, huh? How hard could that be?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Fairytail

Naruto stared up at the building in front of him. It wasn't the most impressive structure in Magnolia. Sure it was probably taller than the rest of the houses, maybe three stories tall. A banner hung from the balcony above, what it said, the whiskered boy had no real clue since the language, while spoken the same, was written differently. But the symbol depicted what Naruto guessed was a fairy with a tail. Fairy. Tail. Ha, funny.

"It's the greatest mystery of all." Erza spoke as if reading his mind. "We don't even know if fairies have tails, but that's all part of the mystery."

"I see."

Naruto could hear a ruckus inside. He heard shouts and cheers. He also thought he heard a chair crashing into a wall or something. The whole place sounded like it was getting demolished from the inside.

"Um, are they alright in there?" Naruto asked worriedly. Erza, on the other hand, didn't even flinch as another object crashed inside the guild hall as if this were a natural occurrence.

"Its fine, compared to some other days, they're quite tame today." Erza stated.

Naruto hoped she was kidding.

Erza entered the front door with her gigantic monster horn, which she insisted on bringing along, and Naruto followed.

The inside of the building resembled a very large tavern. Long tables set in rows left a space in the middle from the front door straight to the bar. Mages sat in groups talking, joking, trading stories, eating and drinking. The place gave of a comfortable atmosphere or maybe it was just the people making it so.

The mages all fell silent as soon as Erza entered the room. Naruto could feel the sudden change in the room as Erza set down her huge monster horn, like they were expecting a bomb to go off.

"What's with the giant horn, Erza?" One of the mages broke the silence.

"I defeated a monster and the locals were so thankful they decorated it and gave it as a gift to me. Why do you have a problem with it?" She rounded on the mage.

The mage squirmed at the glare he received. "N-no, not at all."

She then proceeded to chastise different mages at once. Everybody else just nodded hastily and did as she said. Naruto heard a lot of "Yes, Erza." Or maybe it was like "Yes, Erza, please don't hurt me." She continued to call out different mages when she asked: "Where are Natsu and Gray?"

The female mage turned her attention to two boys who were both wearing fake smiles and had their arms around each other's shoulders like they were best buds. Naruto had to suppress a gasp. The two teenagers reminded him of the other two kids in his dream. Although the pink hair was now male and the other boy didn't seem as indifferent as the raven haired boy. But still the sudden appearance was…unnerving.

The black haired boy spoke first "Oh, hey Erza, We're just doing what best friends do, I guess." He was sweating nervously.

The other boy wasn't any better; in fact, he looked about ready to piss himself. "Aye!"

Erza relented to a smile. "It's nice to see you two getting along, although, it is only natural for even the best of friends to lock horns every once in a while."

The two boys laughed nervously. Then the pink-haired boy finally took notice of Naruto.

"Hey, Erza, who's the guy you brought along with you?" He asked bluntly. Everyone turned to look at Naruto, finally acknowledging his presence.

Naruto chuckled. "The "guy" has a name you know."

"Oh, forgive me. Where are my manners?" Erza apologized. "Everyone, this is Naruto Uzumaki."

Some of the mages craned their necks to see him. He turned to look at each of them and raised a hand. "Yo"

Before long, people from all over the guild had gathered around to say hello.

"Wanna join our team?"

"What's with those weird clothes?"

Not used to the attention, Naruto was starting to get a little overwhelmed.

Erza was a bit annoyed that the guild was harassing the new guy on his first day at the guild, especially since he was not even an official member yet.

"What kind of magic do you use Naruto?" a man smoking a pipe asked.

"Actually, I'm just Erza's luggage carrier." He lied. He caught Erza's eye and gave her a look. Now was not the best time to be revealing personal information, not that he can give much anyway. He needed to wait and meet this Makarov person first.

Thankfully, Erza understood and went along with it. "Yes, it is quite troublesome to carry around heavy baggage, especially mine."

The other mages just shrugged it off, kind of disappointed.

"Which reminds me," Erza said. "Mira, I need to speak to the Master."

A pretty white haired woman spoke up. "Sorry, the master's at a conference today. Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be back soon."

Naruto sighed. _'Just my luck...'_ he thought.

"I see. This brings me to my next point." Erza moved on. "Natsu, Gray, I need your help."

The other mages started murmuring to themselves. Naruto thought he heard Mira gasp.

"Erza needs help?" A mage said in a hushed voice.

"This is a first," commented a striking woman in a blue bikini, chugging down insane amounts of alcohol...straight from a barrel. Naruto gawked at that last part. An entire barrel of alcohol...if she was a mage, then her power had to all go to reinforcing her liver!

The two boys released each other from their grasp. They stared at each other in distaste, like they couldn't bear to be standing next to each other much less be working together. Mirajane covered her mouth and her eyes were wide in disbelief.

"This could be the strongest team Fairytail has ever seen..." She said.

Naruto heard this and turned to the three mages. Erza was definitely powerful, Naruto had seen that first hand. Natsu didn't look like much, just an average teen wearing an armless coat, and a scarf. Same went for Gray, but why was he taking his clothes off like he was some kind of male stripper? Naruto shrugged it off, he wouldn't be surprised if all the mages here were just as strong as Erza.

"That's right, meet us at the train station in an hour." Erza instructed.

The boys clearly didn't like it, but they nodded.

At the train station, Naruto sat on a bench next to a pretty blonde girl from the guild who introduced herself to be Lucy. Naruto was astounded by the number of attractive women in Fairytail. She also came to tag along for the mission with some instructions from Mirajane. The others arrived fifteen minutes later.

Gray was trying to ignore Natsu's barrage of complains. A blue, talking cat with wings named Happy was flying after them as they made their way toward their station. Erza followed behind, with her monstrous luggage...which Naruto was going to have to carry. Naruto regretted that cover story.

"Why do I have to be on the same team as Gray?!" Natsu complained loudly.

"I don't like it either, but we're going to have to suck it up." Gray responded evenly.

Erza appeared behind them and they gave a small surprised shout. "How are we doing?"

The two resumed their friendship façade. "Let's go good buddy!"

"Aye!"

Lucy introduced herself to Erza while Natsu and Gray held a glaring contest while Erza's back was turned. The clock indicated that they had ten minutes to board their train.

"I hate to interrupt, but we should probably board now." Naruto pointed out.

"Of course," Erza said.

"Hey Erza, I'll help you on this mission under one condition." Natsu said.

"Shut up!" Gray whispered harshly to Natsu. "Do you have a death wish or something?"

Natsu ignored him and continued. "When we get back, I want a rematch with you. I'm a lot stronger than I was last time. I'll beat you for sure." Naruto could say this about Natsu, the kid had a lot guts, although he didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Erza inspected Natsu's newfound determination. There was a fire in his eyes that burned bright with excitement.

"Yes, I can tell you've improved." Erza conceded. "Very well, I accept your challenge."

Natsu pumped his fists. "Yeah, I'm fired up!"

Naruto sighed as the group boarded the train. After they found a seat, the whistle sounded and the train started to pull out. They sat in silence as the train began gaining speed. Natsu was trying to keep his breakfast down. He looked awful. Natsu moaned gradually as the train continued its course and picked up speed.

"Motion sickness?" Naruto asked in concern.

"...blurg..." Natsu choked out.

"Well...no barf bag handy. So just puke in Gray's pants then." Naruto advised.

"What?!" Gray snapped, glaring furiously at the suggestion.

Naruto shrugged, "Hey, you keep ditching your clothes, so if you're not gonna wear them, might as well put them to use if Natsu blows chunks. Either that or stop stripping."

Seething, Gray looked ready to strangle the orange-wearing teen...at least until Erza told him to calm down, then Gray looked like he was trying not to faint.

Erza then briefed them on the mission at hand. She told them that Eisenwald was planning on using Lullaby for something notorious. Natsu had been knocked out by Erza as to minimize his suffering until they reached the next station.

They reached the station in forty minutes, the train gradually getting slower before coming to an abrupt halt and the passengers were beginning to exit. As Naruto followed Gray down the length of the train, he bumped into someone.

"Whoops, sorry about that." Naruto apologized.

"No problem" The man said automatically. When he turned, Naruto's felt a sharp piercing pain in his head. He stood there clutching his forehead as the man moved away. He had dark spiky hair pulled back. His face was so familiar it made Naruto's head hurt. One thing was for sure, he knew that man, or he at least seemed familiar for some reason. The pain had subsided by the time Naruto decided to follow him.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Familiar face

The train had begun to move again. He hoped that Erza and the others had the sense to continue the mission without him, because Naruto didn't want to be a burden. Besides this was a personal matter. He crouched behind a seat as the person continued along the train. No sense in revealing himself until he was certain, after all...

The man continued to move along the aisle until he stopped at the place where Naruto and the others were seated. The man stood in front of a sleeping Natsu, and Naruto slapped himself mentally. How could he have forgotten the Pink Blowtorch? How could ANY of them?!

"Well, if it isn't a Fairytail wizard." The man sneered. Natsu had awoken at the sound of the voice.

"Who are you?" Natsu asked groggily. Then the man planted his boot in Natsu's face. Naruto clenched his fists to keep himself from shouting out in protest. Instinct told him to be quiet and move when the opportunity presented itself. He hated it but he kept silent.

"You Fairytail flies have no business here." The man stated. Natsu glared at him from under his boot. He then placed both hands on the man's shoes and shoved him backwards. Miraculously, Natsu stood to face the man. His fist caught fire.

"Listen, I don't know who you are," Natsu began, "But nobody talks trash about Fairytail, especially in front of me!"

Well, Naruto had to give Natsu credit: he knew what he loved and wouldn't stand for it being slandered or desecrated in any way, shape, or from, no matter who it put him up against. The blonde respected that.

Natsu took a step forward but stopped hesitantly. The fire from his hand extinguished. He frowned and kept his mouth shut. Naruto could see that he was still dealing with his motion sickness.

The man just laughed at him. "Was that it?" He questioned. "Well then let me show you what a real wizard of Eisenwald is like!"

He stretched out his hand and a magic circle appeared. His shadow began to move towards Natsu, that was when Naruto saw his chance. He leaped from his hiding place and moved with amazing speed, grabbing Natsu and pulling him out of the way before the attack landed. The shadow mage was surprised to see that his attack missed. Now Naruto stood between him and Natsu.

"Naruto, when did you get here?" Natsu asked a bit surprised.

"Tell you later." Naruto replied.

"What's this, another one?" the mage asked. "Well isn't this my lucky day, two for one."

Natsu made a move to charge at the mage, but Naruto held out an arm to stop him. His eyes were telling Natsu to wait.

"What's you name?" Naruto inquired, catching the mage off guard.

"Kageyama," He said a bit unsure and startled by the question. Naruto tried to search his brain for a sense of familiarity to the name, but nothing struck him. Still, Naruto was sure he knew a shadow-user that resembled this guy, so he wasn't through yet. He needed to know more.

"Do you recognize me?" He asked, a bit uncertain. Kageyama was surprised by the question.

"No, I've never seen you before." Kageyama answered.

Naruto couldn't help but feeling disappointed. He thought he found a connection to his past, but he was wrong. This man was not someone he knew. Then, Naruto remembered something and he grew angry.

"You're from Eisenwald!" Naruto growled. Kageyama regained his confident smile. "That's right, and now you flies are going to get what you deserve."

He raised his hand to attack, but then the train came to a sudden halt, (somebody must have pulled an emergency break somewhere, Natuto guessed) throwing him off balance. Natsu was lucky enough to steady himself on the passenger's seat. Naruto on the other hand, stood firmly in place and didn't budge the slightest when the train halted. Naruto felt a large build up of his energy concentrated on his feet. He realized that the energy was holding him in place.

Kageyama stumbled and something fell from his jacket. It rolled in front of Naruto. It was some kind of dark brown flute with the head of a skull with three purple eyes. Kageyama paled as Naruto saw it. Naruto was about to snatch it up when Natsu shouted: "All right, it's payback time!" He drew a deep breath.

"No, wait!" Naruto tried to stop him, but it was too late. Natsu released his breath and came out as a roar of fire. Naruto raised both arms to protect himself as the train exploded.

Naruto coughed as the smoke and debris started to clear. Kageyama had been burned and bruised, but seemed fine otherwise. Natsu just stood there completely unaffected by the explosion. Naruto was amazed by his display of power. He also felt irritation because if Pinky hadn't gone and blown up the whole train, he could have questioned Kageyama more or at least gotten his hands on the strange looking flute that it seemed was important to the Eisenwald mage. Who knew where it could be under all this destroyed parts?!

"Lucky shot..." Kageyama mumbled. He slowly got back on his feet and the train suddenly lurched forward and began to gradually gain speed. Natsu covered his mouth to prevent himself from vomiting as motion sickness overcame him again. They weren't going to get anywhere like this, Naruto couldn't fight if Natsu was going to get in the way. They needed to fall back.

As Kageyama prepared to attack, Naruto reached into his pouch and detonated a smoke bomb. Naruto took advantage of the temporary concealment and moved fast. He grabbed Natsu and ran towards the destroyed part of the train with a huge portion missing. _'I'm an idiot for this!'_ Naruto thought and he jumped out of the train, hauling his living furnace of a teammate with him.

As the smoke cleared, Kageyama found himself standing alone. He looked left and right but couldn't find his adversaries. He shook his head, thinking that they probably jumped as he inspected the destroyed train. Unbeknownst to him, though, was that the original Naruto had transformed into a suitcase under one of the chairs.

Meanwhile the other Naruto and Natsu crashed into Erza and the others the moment they jumped. Literally, Erza drove some sort of vehicle that ran alongside the train. They stopped as soon as they saw the two boys flying toward them. Naruto was thankful for his fast reflexes because he wouldn't have caught the top part of the vehicle and he would've tumbled into the ground. He had a firm hold of Natsu who was as limp as a rag doll until they stopped.

"What happened?!" Erza demanded as soon as they were gathered around the strange car. Natsu recounted the events that had transpired on the train, how Naruto showed up, and when they jumped out.

"So they were on the same train as us..." Erza said after Natsu finished. Unexpectedly, Erza brought her fist down on his head. "You fool! Why did you let him get away?! That was part of our mission!"

"What?! It's the first time I heard about this!" Natsu said rubbing the spot where Erza hit him.

"She already forgot she knocked him out on the train..." Naruto heard Lucy murmur. Erza continued to scold Natsu when Naruto stepped in. He couldn't let Natsu take all the blame. "It's my fault he got away."

The group turned to look at him. "What do you mean?" Gray asked.

Naruto looked away. "I thought I recognized him, from my past."

The others looked confused while Erza understood. She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Did you find anything helpful?"

Naruto just shook his head. Gray, on the other hand, began to grow suspicious. "Hang on, why would you recognize someone from a dark guild, you old friends or something?"

The very suggestion that he was from a dark guild made Naruto's gut twist in anger and disgust, but a small part of his mind said: What if he's right? He didn't know anything from his past. So it could be possible that he was from a dark guild, but the thought seemed so wrong to Naruto. He would never join those monsters. It went against every fiber and instinct of his existence.

"It's not like that, Gray," Erza said. She began to explain how she met Naruto on a job and how he has no memory of his past. Understanding dawned on their faces.

"So you were lying when you said you were just Erza's luggage carrier?" Lucy ventured.

Naruto smiled sheepishly. "...Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Figured the less you knew the better. Amnesia makes trusting people hard..."

"So you're actually a wizard?" Happy asked.

"Well, I wouldn't say that, but I think I'm pretty darn close." Naruto shrugged.

"We're wasting time!" Erza interrupted, "We need to catch up to that train!"

Naruto grinned mischievously. "No need to worry about that. I'm just a clone, the real me is on the train as we speak."

Natsu, Lucy and Gray's mouths dropped. Erza, knowing that he could make clones the first time they met, was not surprised.

"We don't have a moment to lose, then!" Erza said. Everyone climbed back into the vehicle. As Erza strapped on the device that drained her magic to turn into fuel she noticed Naruto still standing there. "Come on Naruto, we have to catch up to them!"

He just smiled at her. "I'm just a clone, remember? Don't worry, the meet you at the next station." The clone said, Erza nodded firmly and drove off at top speed before the duplicate of the whiskered male dispersed in a puff of smoke.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Eisenwald

Naruto felt a rush of new memories as the clone dispersed, seemed like Erza and the others received his message. Hopefully, they were on their way. All Naruto had to do was stay put. It wasn't easy though, being transformed into a suitcase made him feel uncomfortable.

Strangely, in ways Naruto could't explain, he was still vaguely aware of his surroundings. He could still feel the train moving along the tracks. He could hear the loud engine chugging away. This was one of the most bizarre things he experienced so far, but seemingly familiar, as if he's done it a thousand times before...

After what felt like at least half an hour by what Naruto guessed, the train began to slow down and he heard the faint screech of metal as the train came to a stop. He heard a multitude of voices, then something heavy drop to the ground and people murmuring frantically. He resisted the urge to transform back into a human, for fear of getting caught. _'Stay put,'_ he ordered himself.

Then he heard a train door open and a pair of feet landing on the ground and multiple footsteps nearing the train.

"Ah, Kageyama, I trust everything is in order?" A sinister voice said. "That's quite a bit of wreckage. You didn't have any problems did you?"

"Come on, aren't you more interested with what I brought?" another voice Naruto recognized it as Kageyama's said.

"Excellent," the other speaker appraised after a brief pause. Naruto suspected that Kageyama showed the man something. He had a bad feeling that it was the flute he saw from earlier. The unknown speaker continued, "With Lullaby in our possession, our plans will come into motion."

"Yes, Lord Erigor." Kageyama agreed. More voices chuckled in agreement.

He heard them board the train and after a few minutes they were on the move again.

Naruto was deep in thought. He tried to piece the puzzle together, but there were still too many factors to consider. He started to assess the situation with the information he already knew. First, Erigor, who appears to be the leader of Eisenwald, was on this train heading to who knew where. Second, they seemed to be in high spirits after they had met up with Kageyama, which meant that everything was going according to their plan. What that plan was though, Naruto didn't know. Thirdly, why were they taking the train? It seemed like a limited way to travel as they had to stay on the tracks. That meant they weren't aiming for a stealthy approach. They must have been really confident that their plan would work if they seem so laid back about it.

Their main objective however, was still a mystery to Naruto. He then remembered the flute he saw earlier and Kageyama's reaction when he saw it. It was fear. Fear of being caught. Lullaby. It sounds like one of the songs you sing to a child to get them to fall asleep. A song...a flute...and Lullaby, the truth hit Naruto like a ton of bricks. The flute was Lullaby!

He didn't understand the finer details, but he got the idea. If anyone played that flute, those who hear its melody died. Now if he only knew who they were planning to use it on...

Finally, Naruto couldn't stand it anymore, he transformed back into himself and crawled out from under the chair. As he stood and stretched his back, he heard a shout and furniture splintering into pieces coming from the train car ahead of him.

He walked toward the sounds until he reached the door to the next car, the mages of Eisenwald must have been the ones on the other side. He crouched and carefully opened the door just a fraction so he could see inside. Kageyama was on the floor as if he tripped backwards. Towering over him was a man wielding a gigantic scythe. Naruto could see some of the other mages in there as well.

"You let them escape?!" The man holding the scythe roared. _'Guy must be Erigor...'_ Naruto thought.

"Do you have any idea how foolish that was?!" Erigor ranted. "Those pesky little flies will cause us nothing but trouble!"

"Lord Erigor, if they are so weak then they will be nothing they can do to stop us, right?" Kageyama said in a pathetic attempt to save himself from blame.

Erigor considered that for a moment, then he lowered his scythe to this side.

"Fortunately for you, Kageyama, we still have time to correct you errors." Erigor gave a nasty smile. "We'll have a little surprise waiting for our fairy friends at Oshibana station." The mages gave matching grins in anticipation.

That was all Naruto needed to know for now, he slid the door slowly back to close it. Naruto's heart convulsed in fear as it gave a small click when the door shut.

"What was that?" He heard Erigor say. Naruto had to act fast.

Erigor slid the door open and walked into the destroyed train car. He looked around the train, but couldn't find anyone. He could've sworn he heard something suspicious. He carried his scythe over his shoulder and walked up the aisle. There was no one there. He shrugged, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that there was another presence. He walked back into the other train car when he stepped on something, a beat up old suitcase made of leather. Frowning he kicked it to the side. He returned to the other train car and shut the door, locking it behind him.

Naruto felt his heart hammering in his chest. That was too close. Even when he transformed back into an old suitcase, he was afraid Erigor would notice, but he just kicked him to the side. Eventually, Naruto's breathing helped calm him down.

Part of him wondered why he was afraid. He bet he could take Erigor down right here and right now, but then again, he had backup. The logical part of him was just thankful that he didn't get caught.

Naruto felt himself getting drowsy. So far this has been an exhausting day and it wasn't even noon! He considered a brief nap when he decided against it. The rhythmic sound of the train's wheels moving along the tracks was not helping, he felt himself slowly drifting off, maybe one quick nap.

 _He was standing in front of huge gates. Four other boys stood with him as they were about to head out. One boy looked exactly like Kageyama except that his mouth curved mostly downward and his posture was sloppy. He must be thinking how he'd rather be at home resting than being out here to do a mission._

 _Another boy was fat and was munching on some chips. A boy with sharp canines wearing a snow jacket petted a small dog that perched on the hood of his jacket. Another boy had white irises and had long hair. The Kageyama lookalike was discussing some kind of formation when a weepy, pink haired girl approached them._

 _"Naruto, this is a once and a lifetime request." She sobbed. "But please bring back Sasuke, bring him back to me!"_

 _Naruto felt a huge amount of sadness overcome him. It was obvious that she loved Sasuke. He knew that she had never felt any sort of affection toward him, even though he did._

 _"You really care about him, don't you?" Naruto said sadly. The girl didn't respond._

 _Naruto forced a smile and gave her a thumb up. "I promise I'll bring back Sasuke, no matter what! I swear on my life, dattebayo!"_

 _The girl hugged herself and sobbed even more. "Naruto, thank you."_

Naruto woke just as the train stopped. He let go of the transformation, but stayed under the chair. The mages of Eisenwald gathered in the station. He heard footsteps coming and then he saw Erza and the others emerge from a hallway on the other side of the room.

Naruto counted the number of the Eisenwald guild members, all in all, sixty strong. He steeled himself for the battle he knew was about to take place. Strangely, he felt excited. Battle jitters, he guessed. Naruto smirked. It was time to make this guild sorry he ever messed with either Fairytail or Naruto Uzumaki.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Battle at the Station

Erza felt exhausted. She regretted not letting Gray drive the magic car for awhile so she could have gotten to rest. Now, as she stood in front of the entire Eisenwald guild, she doubted she could handle them all. Thankfully, she had backup. They were gathered in the main station.

"Well, look at this! A couple of flies have entered the spider's web!" A voice taunted from above. There sat a man who was hovering in the air, wielding a giant scythe. He could only be Erigor the Reaper.

Natsu had gotten over his motion sickness and stood to face the guild. He grinned. "Well looks like we've got a party going on here!" He pounded his fist into his palm.

"Um, Natsu they're the bad guys remember?" Lucy reminded him nervously.

"Just like I said, a party," He said. Scanning the Dark guild, his eyes widened as he recognized the shadow mage from the train. "You!"

Kageyama just smiled, "Ready for round two? Where's your blonde friend?"

Erza knew he meant Naruto. The clone from earlier said that he was on the train, but she couldn't catch a glimpse of him. Was it possible they…? No. She refused to believe that he'd been caught or worse. She kept her attention on Erigor.

"Erigor, we've come to take you into custody." Erza declared with her best authoritative voice. "Call of this scheme you intend to do and we will show mercy."

Erigor just smiled wider before he disappeared and reappeared on top of the station's speakers. He was fast. ' _Wind magic...'_ Erza thought.

"Not until those who wronged us get what they deserve." He told her. "With Lullaby in our possession, we'll be unstoppable."

Natsu was getting impatient,"Just spit it out already! What do you plan to do with Lullaby?!" He demanded.

Erigor chuckled and opened his mouth to respond, when a voice answered for him. "He plans to broadcast it. Most likely mixing the station speakers and judging from that breeze, this guy has wind abilities so the song plays further..."

They all turned to the source of the voice and Erza spotted a familiar looking blond with blue eyes, whisker marks on both cheeks, a metal-plated headband on his forehead wearing orange and black. He stood on top of the train behind Eisenwald. Erza noticed that his usual cheery demeanor was gone. He had his arms crossed and his eyes as cold and hard as ice as he glared at the Eisenwald mages in front of him. She felt a huge amount of relief.

"That's why you chose to travel by train, because of the speakers, isn't it?" Naruto said. Erigor looked slightly annoyed, but managed to keep smirking.

"I knew I smelled a rat sniffing around." Erigor said. He met Naruto's glare with his own. "You're the one who's been causing us trouble lately." Among the mages, Erza spotted a familiar face. The one she met when Eisenwald tried to destroy a small town and its population. The earth mage smirked. "We meet again, Titania."

Erza felt anger boiling inside her, this time she would finish off every last one of them. Just then Erigor spoke again. "I don't have time for this." He turned to his guild members. "Take care of these weaklings. Show them true terror." He ordered before he vanished.

Erza turned to Natsu and Gray. "Follow him. If you work together, not even Erigor the reaper can stand against you."

The two boys started to object when she gave them a death glare. A few seconds later, they rushed off. Erza turned to face the rest of the guild. Naruto appeared beside her, which startled Lucy. The male blonde gave a nod and withdrew a kunai as Erza summoned a sword. "Lucy, we would welcome some assistance." Erza said. Lucy gave a confident nod.

In spite of the situation, Naruto couldn't help a light chuckle. "Hey, Erza-chan, How many can you handle?" he questioned.

Erza, serious as she was, knew it was speaking in jest to provoke their enemies, so she thought mock-seriously for a second before smirking.

"It might be trouble if one more shows up." She said, and Naruto nodded his head slowly. "Then that'll be the one I take care of." he added and Erza grinned widely.

"Wait…you're fighting?" She quipped in mock amazement and Naruto grinned back at her.

Sick of being ignored and feeling the two were mocking them, Eisenwald charged.

Naruto veered right, dividing the guild's forces. Twenty mages converged on him. He crossed his fingers and summoned two clones, each of them holding kunai. The three Narutos stood back to back.

Erza took on the rest. She swung her sword and five mages fell before her. Erza felt herself slowly getting tired but she forced herself to stay focus on the task at hand. She requiped and her sword turned into a lance. She batted aside a group of attacking mages. Left and right, mages fell before her. She heard shouts and grunts off to her right.

Naruto was unstoppable. She had never seen someone fight like he did. He may have been outnumbered, but he had the mages outclassed. His two clones made up for it in teamwork. Naruto took out mage after mage systematically. When a mage broke through his defense, one clone would block the attack and the other would counter almost immediately. Naruto would knock out mages with swift and decisive strikes, blocked attacks with casual flicks of his kunai. It was mesmerizing to watch, but Erza had to keep her attention on her own fight.

She requiped again and summoned two short blades. She slashed wildly and four mages fell again. One mage almost got past her guard. She slammed the hilt of her short sword against his head and the mage staggered back and fell. Just then she heard the clang of metal behind her and a grunt as a punch landed. She looked back to see Naruto knock another mage unconscious.

"Be careful, Erza-chan." Was the only thing he said before dashing off to confront another set of mages. She felt grateful toward Naruto, but also ashamed. She realized what had happened, if Naruto hadn't stepped in, an enemy might have landed a lucky blow from behind. How did she miss that? Her exhaustion was throwing her off. She didn't have time to think about that now though as ten mages charged.

She could hear Lucy shouting orders to a celestial spirit she summoned. Erza turned to see a tall man with crab like features attack the Eisenwald mages with nothing but two pairs of scissors. The mages were no match for the spirit as they were defeated with all of their hair completely cut off. Lucy pumped her fist in triumph.

"Thanks, Cancer!" Lucy exclaimed as her spirit disappeared.

Now there were only a handful of them left. Erza decided it was time to finish this. She knew it was a risky move, she was already low on magic energy, she didn't even know if she could pull off a full body requip, but Erza had to try though. "Requip!"

A bright light enveloped her body as she changed into her fairy armor. The mages backed away from her as they beheld her new suit of armor. A mage blasted her with a magic energy beam, but she deflected it with her sword. She summoned ten swords before shouting: "Dance my swords!"

The swords circled each other and launched themselves against the mages of Eisenwald. Déjà vu, Erza thought. She transformed back into her normal armor and panted. She was almost completely drained of magic energy. Erza noticed that a rather plump mage had phased into the ground and slipped away.

"Lucy, go after him!" She called out and pointed to the fleeing mage. Lucy wasn't crazy enough to defy Erza, so she dashed off in pursuit with Happy following behind her.

Erza watched her as she ran up the stairs and disappear into a hallway. She felt tired to the bone. She didn't even realize that she was starting to fall forward. Fortunately, Naruto caught her. He wrapped one arm around her waist and one on her shoulder to steady her. She leaned on him for support.

"I think you overdid it this time, Erza-chan." Naruto said. He slung her right arm over his shoulder and his other arm around her waist. She saw that those two alluring blue eyes were fixated on her.

"Don't worry, I've got you." He smiled at her. Erza couldn't explain it, maybe it was because of her lightheadedness, but she began to relax and let herself be supported by Naruto. Erza had only met him a few days ago and she barely knew anything about him, but she had never felt like this with anyone else before. Even in the guild, she had to appear in charge and strong in front of everyone else. With Naruto, Erza felt calm and even a little bit hopeful. Naruto had that strong confidence in himself that made you think anything was possible. He had that cheerful, boyish demeanor that made you want to like him even more.

Reaching into the equipment pouch on his hip, he pulled out a small, lumpy bag and reached into it, pulling out a round, black pill that could have been mistaken for a small marble, "Here...Hyōrōgan...Energy supplement based on a type of special military rations pills. You look ready to drop."

Nodding, Erza took the pill and popped it into her mouth and started chewing it as Naruto started up the stairs, carefully adjusting himself to help keep the both of them balanced. They started down the corridor, heading to the balcony. Erza knew Naruto must be heading to address the crowd of people that had gathered outside the train station. It was the logical thing to do since they were in range of the speakers and would fall victim to Lullaby. Naruto didn't look it, but he was pretty smart when he wanted to be.

"Naruto, I can stand." Erza told him, that pill actually had helped, surprisingly enough. Naruto didn't look completely convinced, but he did as she requested, they were at the balcony now. A collective number of people had gathered in front of the train station and a military barricade stood in front of them to prevent the crowd from entering the building. Two employees spotted them as they arrived.

"Hey, you can't be up here, the station is closed!" One of them said. He held a megaphone in his hand. He had been trying to reassure the crowd that they were experiencing technical malfunctions with the train. Even so, the crowd grew restless.

Without warning, Erza took the megaphone from his hand and approached the edge of the balcony. The employee protested, but Erza ignored him. Naruto gave him an apologetic smile as he scratched his head, a little embarrassed. Erza began to speak into the megaphone.

"All of you are in grave danger, leave this station at once!" Erza commanded. The people only looked at her with confusion.

"Why?" one of them called out.

Erza clenched her fists. "Because if you value your lives, you will return to your homes and stay there."

She spoke with such authority that some of them actually turned and left, followed by a few. Gradually, the people did as they were told and within minutes even the soldiers guarding the entrance cleared out.

Erza handed the man back his megaphone and told the two employees to go home as well.

She and Naruto were about to head back inside when they were blasted backward by a gust of wind. Erza heard Erigor laughing. She turned to the sound only to find a gigantic wind barrier has encircled the entire station. Erza could hear Erigor's voice from the outside. "Well, now that you fairies are trapped inside my indestructible wind barrier, I might as well be on my way. Thank you for making this so much easier for me, ha, ha, ha!"

Before Erza could stop him, Naruto ran towards the barrier and tackled it. He was blasted backward and landed on his back painfully with a grunt. She could see that his shoulder had been cut multiple times. He pressed his hand over his wounds and Erza helped him on his feet.

"Damn that is one powerful wind jutsu!" Naruto said with grudging respect.

Erza scowled in confusion. "What is a jutsu?"

Naruto opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by an explosion inside the building. Erza and Naruto nodded to each other, knowing that Natsu had probably been the cause of it. Together, they dashed back inside to find their friends.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Chase to Clover Town

Erza and Naruto raced past the halls as they tried to find the source of the recent explosion that shook the station. They rounded a corner and bumped into Lucy, Gray, and Happy.

"You guys heard it too, right?" Naruto asked. They all nodded in response. Together they raced up the flight of stairs without further discussion.

The group found Natsu and Kageyama at the top of the staircase. Kageyama sat against the wall covered in burns and bruises. Natsu stood in front of a demolished wall. Erza noted that beyond the destroyed wall, Natsu had obliterated several other rooms. He just stood there looking smug about his triumph against the shadow mage.

"That must have been a hell of a punch Natsu," Naruto appraised, "you must've destroyed at least five rooms."

Natsu grinned. "Please, that was nothing."

Erza turned toward Kageyama who lay helpless before them. Now Erza had to decide what to do with him. Should they just leave him here? No. That would not be the right thing to do. Besides they weren't going anywhere unless they somehow managed to get past Erigor's wind barrier. Erza sighed.

"We should get him some medical attention." Erza told her companions. The fairytail mages looked at her in disbelief.

"Um Erza, you do realize he's from Eisenwald, right?" Lucy asked nervously. The two other boys from the guild did not seem to understand her motives either. Naruto on the other hand understood and knelt in front of Kageyama.

"Can you stand?" Naruto asked. Kageyama hesitated and looked away. Why were these people helping him? He was their enemy. If the roles were reversed, Kageyama would have just left them to rot. He sighed not knowing what else to do. He shook his head. The pink haired dragonslayer really did a number on him.

Naruto moved to help him stand when Kageyama gave a sudden grunt of pain. At first Erza thought that Naruto triggered an injury. Then, to her horror, blood began to flow from his mouth as someone had stabbed him from behind. He fell forward to reveal that the plump mage Erza saw escaping earlier was phased into the wall and holding a bloody knife. The others gave a cry of alarm as the incident occurred.

Natsu was the first one to react. He clenched his two fists and lit them on fire. He looked at the assailant with sheer outrage and began to advance on him.

"How could you?!" Natsu demanded angrily. "He was from your own guild and you betrayed him! Is this how you dark guild members treat each other?!" He pulled his flaming fist back and landed a devastating blow on the mage who was trembling in fear. Natsu destroyed the mage and the wall in front of him in one powerful move. The mage, still among the piles of rubble, clearly (hopefully only) unconscious.

Naruto began to treat the stab wound Kageyama had received, his hands working furiously to stop the flowing blood. Kageyama was still breathing, but incredibly weak. Within a few minutes Naruto had managed to cease the blood flow coming from the wound. He then ordered Gray to help him carry Kageyama outside.

Once they were outside they were confronted by a new problem. They set Kageyama down to rest, while the group thought of a way to get past the treacherous rotating winds. Natsu was no help at all. He kept charging at the barrier and kept being blasted back. Thankfully, Lucy got him to stop after a few minutes.

"Hey guys, we need a way to get out of here fast." Gray said suddenly.

"Why is that, Gray?" Erza questioned. Gray began to relate his fight with an Eisenwald guild member and how they planned to use Lullaby.

Erza felt a sense of dread crawl up her spine. The station was never their original goal in the first place. Their target was the guild masters. Erza cursed mentally. Master Makarov was currently residing in Clover where the guildmasters' conference was being held. The impact of Erigor's plan was devastating.

The only problem was that they were stuck inside a powerful wind barrier, that Erza did not know how to dispel. Maybe Kageyama knew, but he was lying unconscious and was in no fit condition to help them. Erza began to think of different ways on how to overcome their current predicament when she noticed Naruto standing off to one side looking at the swirling winds and seemed to be deep in thought that he didn't notice Erza approach him.

"We have to hasten our efforts!" Erza told him. She began to relay Erigor's plan to him.

Naruto frowned. "That would be bad. If the guildmasters that are the leaders of the different guilds are killed, then the whole system would be thrown into chaos, right?"

Erza nodded.

Frustrated, Naruto punched the barrier, only to pull it back when it had cut up his hand.

"Don't touch the wind, it'll rip you to shreds!" Erza warned them.

Lucy ran up to Naruto and looked at his injured arm. "Naruto! Are you okay?"

Naruto waved her off. "Yeah don't worry, I heal fast."

She watched in awe as the cuts closed right before her eyes. "You weren't kidding…" unable to believe it. Healing magic was considered a lost magic for a reason, yet this guy appeared to do self-restoration without event trying!

Looking up from his hand, Naruto frowned at the fast moving winds. "Interesting, a magic that uses powerful rotating winds to contain a certain space."

Naruto stared at his hand and pretended to hold an imaginary ball in one hand, mumbling to himself. "Power, rotation, and containment...that sounds really familiar...and something about wind..." he frowned.

"I remember now!" The group was startled by the sound of Happy's voice. He began to rummage in the tiny cloth bag he always wore. He brought out a golden key and held it triumphantly. Lucy gasped.

"Happy, where did you get this celestial spirit key?" Lucy demanded as she snatched the key from his hands.

"That's what I forgot to tell you Lucy, I snatched it from that Duke Everlue guy." Happy said as if it was no big deal.

"What's a celestial spirit key?" Naruto asked completely dumbfounded.

"Well for starters, it can open a gate to the spirit realm were celestial spirits live. You can call upon a spirit for help as long as you have a contract with him or her and that you have his or her key. Only celestial wizards are capable of doing this. Naruto, I'm a celestial wizard." Lucy explained. Naruto gave a nod of understanding.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's summon that spirit, maybe they can help us!" Natsu urged.

Lucy held the key above her head and brought it down saying: "Open gate of the maiden, Virgo!"

Suddenly, a small girl in a maid's outfit appeared before them. She had light purple hair and she wore broken shackles on her wrists (Naruto had to admit the shackles as if she were a slave bothered him). She placed her left hand on her chest and bowed respectfully to Lucy.

"You summoned me, mistress?" She stated politely. Lucy seemed to be remembering something when she snapped her fingers. Lucy pointed her finger at the maiden accusingly. "You were the big ugly made who attacked us!"

Natsu and Happy stared at her in disbelief. "What?! But she looks different."

"I change my appearance to the preference of my key holder's ideal image of beauty. But if you want princess, I can transform if you wish." Before Lucy could protest, she changed her appearance into a very large and ugly maid. Naruto and Gray flinched at the sudden transformation.

"No, the previous one was fine." Lucy quickly said. "In fact, don't transform into that ever again, it gives me the creeps."

"Agreed," Naruto said.

Virgo then explained how she could dig underground as that was part of her magic. She began to twirl and fell into a deep hole that started to turn into a small tunnel. Erza and the others proceeded to crawl through the underground passage with Kageyama in tow. They emerged outside of the barrier next to the magic mobile.

"I shall be going now, princess." Virgo informed Lucy and vanished a moment later. They positioned Kageyama in the vehicle when Gray suddenly asked: "Where are Natsu and Happy?"

Erza turned a full circle and realized that Gray was right. Natsu and Happy were nowhere in sight. Off to one side they heard Naruto give a small chuckle. "Oh they're probably going to do something stupid. I saw Happy take off with Natsu after we got out of the tunnel."

"That idiot, he probably went after Erigro!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Ah he'll be alright, if anyone should be worried it should be Erigor." Naruto said confidently. "Let's have some faith in him."

Erza smiled and nodded. Naruto was right and despite his brash attitude, Natsu was a very powerful wizard. She would never admit this to him personally because that might cause his ego to grow bigger. In fact, Erza felt that Natsu could even be more powerful than herself. He had so much untouched potential he had yet to discover. Apparently, Naruto could sense it as well.

"Well we better make sure he doesn't go overboard again." Erza began to climb the driver's seat when Naruto stopped her.

"Maybe I should drive for now Erza-chan." He suggested. Erza waved the offer away. "I'm fine Naruto. I still have plenty off magic reserves." Without waiting for him, she strapped on the device and Naruto had no choice but to join Lucy and Gray inside the magic mobile. The vehicle began to accelerate towards Clover.

They found Natsu and Happy an hour later. The trip would have gone a lot faster but Erza decided to take it slow. She had never felt so tired in her life. They stopped on the railroad tracks in front of Natsu and Happy.

"You guys should've seen it, I kicked Erigor's ass!" Natsu said loudly.

"Aye, sir!" Happy said.

Erza had to be careful climbing down from the driver's seat to prevent her from falling to the ground in fatigue. The rest of them climbed down from the vehicle. Kageyama who was now awake as well and slightly recovered joined them, although he kept toward the back.

"Well that's great and all Natsu so, where is he?" Naruto inquired. Natsu turned to look at a spot behind him where he must have thought Erigor lay unconscious and patted the very ground as if Erigor laid invisible on the railroad tracks.

"He was right here!" Natsu assured them.

"Idiot, you let him get away!" Gray said angrily.

"Well, let's just be grateful that he failed to carry out his plan." Erza said. Natsu began to recount his battle with the wind mage. It involved many punching gestures and a kick here and there. Happy jumped in whenever he saw the chance. Erza was just relieved that it was finally over. She was so tired and she just mostly listened to the recount of the battle. Everyone was so engrossed in Natsu's story that they failed to notice Kageyama pick up a small wooden flute and climb on to the driver's seat of the magic mobile, too late.

The engine hummed to life and they barely managed to avoid the speeding vehicle as it rocketed past them. Kageyama would have slammed into Erza if Naruto hadn't pulled her out of the way.

"You fools, I can't believe you fell for it! Lullaby is mine!" Kageyama called behind them as he speedily made his way toward Clover.

They stood there momentarily shocked by what had just transpired. Natsu could barely contain his outburst.

"That jerk!" Natsu shouted.

"After him!" Erza commanded. She took a step forward and groaned. She was utterly drained. The others paused to notice this.

"Are you ok Erza?" Lucy asked. The others looked at her with worry.

"I'm fine, go after him, I'll catch up." She commanded them. They hesitated, but after the look she gave them they started to dash after Kageyama. Naruto stayed behind. He knelt down facing away from her.

"Get on, we have to catch up." Naruto said. Erza realized that he was offering to carry her.

"No Naruto, I can hold my own." Erza began to say.

"Would you just get on, this isn't the time for pride." Naruto said, tiredly. He seemed determined about this and Erza knew he would not take no for an answer. She relented. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he carried her from under her knees.

Naruto smiled back at her. "Hold on tight."

He began to dash toward Clover with Erza on her back. Erza was amazed by his speed. Apparently, she didn't even weigh him down. She felt his heartbeat through his clothes and felt the rhythm of his feet on the ground. Within moments they caught up to the others and Naruto matched their pace easily. The others were just as surprised as he caught up with them.

"Hey Natsu, I have a question for you." Naruto told him as they were running. "If Erigor had Lullaby, and as Lucy explained, anyone who hears its melody will instantly die. Then why didn't he use it against you?"

Natsu paled at the thought. Everyone else stared at Naruto wide eyed as they considered that scenario. Erza was left speechless as she considered the possible outcome.

"Let's just be glad that Erigor didn't think of that, now, let's move!" Erza said.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Lullaby

It took them quite a while to reach Clover on foot. When they got there the sun had already set below the distant horizon. They crouched low behind some bushes, a good distance away from Kageyama and Master Makarov. Naruto and the others were told to keep quiet and observe by the guild masters. They told them to let Master Makarov handle the situation.

At first when Erza had pointed out that the tiny old man standing in front of Kageyama was the guild master of Fairytail, he felt kind of disappointed. To hold such an honorable title as guild master, he expected someone that was at least regular height. The old man in front of Kageyama was no taller than his thigh and wore silly elf clothes (though Naruto had to admit, he liked the amount of orange). In fact, the other guild masters didn't look impressive either.

Naruto noted that the guild master Bob was dressed like a girl and the fact that he kept getting too close for Naruto's comfort. He also did the same with Natsu and Gray. Naruto had to resist the urge to run as far away from the guy (Yes, guild master Bob was a man) as much as possible.

Although he was disappointed with the guild masters' first impression they made on him, he decided to think better of it. They may not look like much, but they were called guild masters for a reason. Just by looking at Makarov's small figure made Naruto realize that he might be more powerful than he gave Makarov credit for. Underestimating people, whether friend or foe, is a grave mistake he couldn't afford to commit.

Naruto tensed as he saw Kageyama put the flute to his lips, ready to unleash Lullaby's melody. He rose from crouched position when a pair of hands stopped him. It was Erza and Natsu. They shook their heads and gestured for him to remain silent. He didn't know why they were willing to let Kageyama murder them all with one note from Lullaby. Sighing mentally, he crouched next to the others.

Kageyama had the flute to his lips now, but he hesitated. He could kill the tiny old man in front of him right now. He would be welcomed back to the guild as a hero. He would bring his guild the honor they deserve. So why was he having second thoughts now?

Kageyama remembered the dragonslayer's words as he was stabbed from behind by his guild mate. He could feel the passion and sincerity in his voice. Even when they were enemies, they still treated his wounds and had not abandoned them. Was this what he truly wanted?

Makarov saw him hesitate. "Well? Aren't you going to play a melody for me? I don't have all night."

Kageyama didn't respond. he couldn't meet the master's eyes. Makarov sighed. "You know, it doesn't have to be this way. I've seen many things and lived a very long life. I can tell when a young man has lost his way."

Makarov turned away from Kageyama and continued. "As a guild master, it is my job to help the bright and capable youths that will one day surpass me. That is why we are elected to be the masters of the guild. We teach the young ones what we know and set them on the proper path whenever we can. It is a hard and long road for them though. Not everything is easy but with a little guidance, I know they will reach their destination. All I have to do is to believe in my young brats as they choose their own path to follow. Choose your own path and don't let that flute get in the way."

Kageyama lowered Lullaby and dropped to his knees. He couldn't do it. "I surrender."

Makarov turned to look back at the kneeling young man who hung his head in defeat. Makarov sighed. These youngsters had a longer way to go.

Meanwhile, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as he witnessed what had just transpired. He stood and joined the Fairytail mages as they approached their guild master. The other guild masters were there as well.

The master was surprised to have Erza, Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Happy running to approach him. They congratulated him and commented on how he handled the situation quite nicely. Naruto held back as he watched the chemistry between Fairytail. It made him feel strangely lonely. Naruto couldn't help but feel as if he had something that they had before. They were more than just mages and guild masters. Fairytail was a family.

Naruto felt a strange sensation all of a sudden. He couldn't explain it, but he felt a sudden change in the atmosphere. He could sense rage, malevolence, and most of all, hunger emanating from somewhere towards his right. He realized that Lullaby had begun to radiate powerful magical energy.

They heard an evil voice that stunned them. "Fools! I grow tired of you worthless wizards and your antics!"

A gigantic magic circle appeared in the sky. It gave of bolts of dark energy. The mages could just stand and watch as a gigantic, monstrous, wooden humanoid appeared out of nowhere. Naruto gaped at the creature's size. It was as tall as the low lying mountains that surrounded Clover. It had a skeletal form and three empty eye sockets. He knew that this was Lullaby's true form.

"It's huge!" Lucy shrieked.

Lullaby turned toward the mages, "I shall devour your souls myself!"

They all just stood there in the presence of the gigantic demon. In the distance he heard a massive military force marching toward them. Lullaby blasted the next mountain into pieces. The military's retreat could be heard a few moments later. ' _Pathetic_ ,' Naruto thought. While he understood the demon's power was indeed frightening, if the military were going to run away when things got tough, then what was the point of being a solider?

"Pitiful humans, I prefer the taste of a wizard's soul!" Lullaby mocked.

"Oh yeah?! Well, I'd like to see you try!" Natsu shouted up at the demon.

Once the civilians were at a safe distance, Naruto noticed the guild masters were also at a relatively safe distance. Meaning they're probably going to sit this one out. How noble of them.

Lullaby unleashed a furious roar that made Naruto's ears scream in protest. He covered his ears as he tried to block out the sound. When the roar ended, Naruto noticed Erza, Natsu and Gray begin to launch an attack against the demon. They charged and began their assault on the demon. Erza had requiped into her knight's armor and began slicing the demon.

Lullaby stumbled as Erza to bombard it with sword slices. Gray stood of to one side and brought his hands together. A thick layer of cool mist surrounded him as he shouted: "Ice make: Lance!" A dozen spears made of ice launched themselves at the demon. It staggered backwards, but quickly recovered only to be punched by Natsu's flaming fists.

Naruto couldn't just stand here, he had to help. He saw that the relentless attack on the demon was slowly driving toward a certain mountain at the south of Clover. He didn't know why, but the image of Erigor's wind barrier suddenly came to his mind. He felt like his mind had been struck by lightning! He now knew how to even the odds.

He dashed off toward the mountain with all of his speed. He could see that Erza had changed her armor again and Gray launch a spinning ice disk at the demon. Natsu was raining fire down at Lullaby. But he couldn't afford to get distracted now.

 _'Hang on guys,'_ Naruto thought. ' _Don't let up.'_

Erza slashed wildly as the Lullaby swiped at her. Their attacks on Lullaby seemed to only enrage the demon even more, but not doing any lasting damage. They needed to end this soon.

"Pathetic wizards, I've had enough!" Lullaby roared. "I shall end this now."

Lullaby gave off an earsplitting shriek. It sucked in a huge breath and Erza's eyes widened. She covered her ears and hoped that the others had the sense to do so too. Lullaby released its pent up energy and…wheezed. For a moment nobody moved. Lullaby looked crestfallen as its melody failed. Erza noticed small holes and destroyed sections. No wonder, Lullaby had been punched so full of holes from their assault that the air was just simply leaking out of the woodwind instrument-based demon.

Lullaby roared in outrage. It smashed up and shot blasts of energy at random as the monster threw a temper tantrum like a little kid. Unfortunately, one of the blasts was directed at the place where all of the civilians were. Luckily Gray created an ice shield just in the nick of time before the blast hit. Erza was prepared to attack again, but stopped when she noticed a lone figure standing on the small mountain top behind Lullaby.

"OI, UGLY!" A voice shouted.

There was a huge puff of smoke and when it cleared, Erza saw hundreds of Naruto's clones fill the mountain area. Lullaby turned to face its new opponent.

"What's this, a new soul to devour?" Lullaby asked curiously.

Erza could see the movement among the mass of Naruto's clones. They formed glowing balls of energy on their hands. Within moments each clone held a glowing blue sphere of energy in their hands. One of the Narutos stepped forward.

"I hope you've enjoyed your ten minutes of rebirth monster, because I'm going to end it now!" Naruto shouted. All of the clones raised their hands with the glowing sphere. They were so many of them that they looked like they were holding blue stars in their palms. Lullaby roared. With a massive leap, all of the clones launched themselves at the demon, their hands ablaze with the strange power.

"Rasengan Barrage!"

The mass of clones slammed their orbs onto the demon. Erza heard a massive explosion and the sound of Lullaby wailing in agony. A bright blue light flared and illuminated the evening sky. Erza and the others felt the shockwave that followed as Lullaby was destroyed. When the light faded, Lullaby was no more. The mages quickly dashed off to find Naruto.

They found him standing in a huge smoking crater. He saw them approaching and started to walk toward them. Erza could not help but feel little awe struck. Naruto had defeated Lullaby in one powerful move. When he reached them they stood staring at him for a little while.

"Hey guys, man I'm hungry. Can we get something to eat?" Naruto said casually. Naturally, they jumped on him the moment the got to him. Natsu could barely contain his excitement.

"That was awesome Naruto! The way you defeated that monster and how you made so many copies of you and that glowing orb thing!" Natsu chattered away excitedly. Lucy was mostly relieved that everyone was safe. Happy flew around in circles. Gray patted Naruto on the back. Naruto blushed slightly at all of the praise he was receiving. He scratched his head nervously.

Meanwhile, Makarov was watching the young blonde as Erza congratulated him. He could sense enormous reserves of power inside of him. Makarov stood next to guild masters Bob and Goldmine, who were also watching the blonde in interest.

"The boy's powerful." Goldmine commented. "He destroyed Lullaby in one stroke."

"Not to mention handsome," Bob said. He turned to look down at Makarov. "Is he one of your wizards?"

Makarov shook his head. His eyes never left Naruto. "I've never seen him before today. Although he looks like he came with my children here."

Naruto started to make a joke about Lullaby and the others laughed. Makarov frowned at the mysterious young blonde as he heard Bob saying. "Well, no doubt your wizards will convince him to join your guild. It's too bad. I would've wanted him on Blue Pegasus, but the poor boy's afraid of me." Bob sighed.

Makarov chuckled slightly. "What makes you think I want him in my guild?"

Goldmine snorted. "Please, you never turn away a lost soul as you had so calmly proclaimed earlier. Just look at him, he seems plenty lost."

Makarov nodded. He could see the blonde now stomping around, impersonating the monster, Erza and the others burst out laughing. Underneath this cheery demeanor though, Makarov could see the sadness in the boy. He was confused and unsure.

Makarov sighed. "You know me too well."

After the battle, they made camp in the forest surrounding Clover. The town was in a wreck and Makarov thought it best to have his destructive charges away from any piece of civilization that would only get destroyed. Natsu and Happy were devouring their food. Gray lay on a fallen log making small ice sculptures out of boredom. Lucy was telling Natsu to slow down and save some food for the others.

Erza and Naruto came to approach the master.

"Master, this is Naruto Uzumaki." Erza introduced. "He has something he would like to discuss with you."

Naruto nodded. "Nice to meet you, old man."

Makarov looked him up and down. He wore a genuine smile and stood confidently. Makarov could place him about Erza's age. Underneath this though, Makarov could see hardness in him. He had a firm resolve. Makarov noticed that his stance may look laid back, but he knew Naruto was ready to move at a moments notice. He had seen that before but never in someone so young. Instincts told him that Naruto had experienced more than his fair share of combat. He didn't know if that was good or bad.

"Walk with me Naruto." Makarov requested.

Naruto fell into step beside Makarov. It wasn't easy though because he had to take even smaller steps than usual. They had made it a good distance from the campsite when Makarov spoke. "You're not going to ask me to listen to you play a melody, are you?"

Naruto smiled at the grim humor. "No, I just wanted to know if you could help me with a little problem. Erza said that you might provide some help." He began to explain his side of the story.

Makarov pondered at this. "You have no memory at all?"

Naruto shook his head. "I get these glimpses though. I see them every night. I still don't know what to make of them."

They continued in silence for a while, the light of the campfire slowly fading behind them. Naruto could hear the sound of insects providing an eerie echo to the whole forest.

Makarov turned to look up at him. "I shall consider this. I never turn down a man who needs assistance. In the meantime I have an offer in mind for you."

"What offer?" Naruto asked curiously.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: New Member

 _Naruto stood on the opposite end of the enormous waterfall. Two gigantic statues faced each other. He stood one and the raven-haired boy stood on the other. The other boy took no notice of him and continued to walk in the opposite direction._

 _"Sasuke!" Naruto called out. The Uchiha ignored him and continued walking. This enraged Naruto. In a massive leap, he closed the gap between them. He ran up to Sasuke, grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. But the boy in front of him was not the one he knew. Black marks covered a small portion of his face and his left eye was black. This wasn't what made him different though, it was his expression. His face was blank. Emotionless._

 _Naruto clenched his fists. A wave of great sadness overcame him. "Why, Sasuke?"_

 _Sasuke's face remained blank. "That's none of your business. My childish games with you are over. I have my own path to follow now."_

 _Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. Everything they had been through, had been nothing but worthless to Sasuke. Childish games? Their comrades risked their lives for him. "Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Neji, and Bushy Brows. They all sacrificed themselves to save you!"_

 _Sasuke didn't even react. His lack of emotion is what enraged Naruto. He tackled Sasuke to the ground. Naruto sat on top of his chest and punched him in the face. Sasuke didn't event grunt in pain. Sasuke spat blood. Naruto grabbed the collar of Sasuke's shirt and pulled him close. They glared at each other._

 _"I'm going to Orochimaru." Sasuke said. The thought of losing Sasuke to that snake left a cold feeling in Naruto's chest._

 _"Orochimaru!? He's the one who destroyed the village and killed the Third. Do you think he'll give you more power for free?!" Naruto shouted._

 _Sasuke met his gaze evenly. "I don't care."_

 _This frustrated Naruto even more. He tightened his grip on Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke spoke again. "All I care about is accomplishing my goal."_

 _Naruto gazed into the eyes of his teammate. He could see nothing but anger and hatred, but it wasn't for him. Revenge has utterly consumed his friend. But Naruto was not going to let that happen._

 _Naruto had finally come to the inevitable conclusion. They both knew that there was only one way to get what they both want._

 _The two boys glared at each other. "In that case, I'll take you back to the village myself, even if I have to beat you senseless."_

Naruto gasped and sat bolt upright. A fine layer of sweat had formed on his forehead. He dug his hands into the soft ground to create a firm hold on reality. A dream. But Naruto knew it was more than that, it was a memory. He looked around the campsite. Natsu and the others were still fast asleep. The sky was tinged with gray, meaning the sun would rise in a few moments. He wiped his face with his hands and stretched. He stood and decided to take a short walk. He made his way around the others, careful not to wake them.

He sat on a fallen log a short distance away. He needed to get his thoughts together. His memories were resurfacing somewhat. Naruto still couldn't make heads or tales of anything though. Naruto was still experiencing a small bit of sadness from his recent dream. His friend had turned his back on him. If only he had stopped him, like Makarov did to Kageyama. He could have set him on the right path again. But revenge had clouded Sasuke's reasoning. Naruto had failed.

He heard soft footsteps approaching and Erza took a seat next to him.

"Are you okay?" Erza asked. She looked at him with concern.

Naruto decided to answer honestly, "...No..."

She reached out and placed her had on his cheek, noting he was trembling. Gently, she turned his head to look at her. Naruto met her intense brown eyes that were focused on him. Her eyebrows were knit in a frown of worry.

"Can you tell me why?" Erza said softly.

Naruto decided to tell her about his recent dream. Erza listened intently and did not interrupt until he finished. He was grateful that he had someone to confide in. Naruto felt like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders. Erza didn't say anything afterwards. Naruto knew that the important thing about life was to keep looking forward. Erza must know this as well because she didn't press him for more.

The first few streaks of dawn were starting to illuminate the forest. Naruto stood suddenly and surprised Erza. He looked toward the now rising sun. Smiling, Naruto grabbed Erza's hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Come on," Naruto said, "this is the best part!"

Without waiting for her answer he picked her up and began to dash up the nearest tree. She yelped in surprise. Naruto kept running vertically up the trunk with Erza on his back. He stopped at the tallest branch and set Erza down carefully. The view was amazing. They could see the whole landscape spread out before them. The sun was now slowly rising, bathing everything in a subtle orange light.

"It's beautiful," Erza breathed.

"Heh...yeah...love the sunrise. Just something that you can tell about yourself...feel it, ya know? Feels comforting when you have things like that."

She turned to look at Naruto and she took the blonde's hand, holding it in her own.

"You don't have to do everything alone, Naruto." She told him. "You may not remember the people from your past, at least not yet; but at least you're making new friends now. We are your friends."

Naruto squeezed her hand. She was right. He may not recall any of his memories, but that wouldn't stop him from creating new bonds. And Naruto would protect those bonds. He nodded. "Thank you, Erza-chan,"

A few hours later, they found themselves on the road again, heading back toward Magnolia. The group traveled in silence. Naruto considered his current situation. He was an amnesiac with no memory of his past. Looking around, he saw the faces of Natsu, Erza, Gray, Lucy, and even Happy. _'New bonds...'_ Naruto thought, remembering his conversation with Makarov last night.

"Hey, I just had a great idea!" Natsu announced. The teen ran in front of Naruto and held up a clenched fist. "I've noticed that you're pretty strong, Naruto."

Naruto raised his eyebrows, he knew where this was going.

Natsu smirked. "I want to fight you when we get back to Fairytail."

Lucy shook her head in exasperation. "Oh Natsu, we've just finished one harrowing mission and now you want to fight?"

Natsu ignored her. But the master spoke up. "Don't worry Lucy, there will be no fight."

Natsu gaped at Makarov. "What?! But why?!"

"Because," Makarov glanced at Naruto, "Naruto is not a legitimate member of our guild. You cannot engage in combat with a civilian."

"Aw, come on," Natsu complained. The master was right of course, the other mages were starting to realize this as well. They had been too busy with the whole Lullaby incident that they had overlooked that detail. Naruto, on the other hand, realized that the master was throwing him another silent invitation.

"That is a shame." Naruto said, sounding disappointed. He pretended to look deep in thought. He snapped his fingers dramatically as if he had an idea. "Well, we'll just have to fix that problem, won't we?"

"Yes we will." Makarov smiled. Erza and the others perked up as they heard this.

"You mean you're going to join Fairytail?" Natsu asked hopefully.

Naruto smiled. "Of course, I am. I heard that it's the best guild there is."

"You bet it is." Makarov affirmed.

Naruto turned to Erza. "What about you Erza-chan, Is it okay if I join Fairytail?"

Erza tried to hold a straight face. "We would be lucky to have you." She nodded with a small, happy smile forming on her face. Natsu gave a whoop. With that the Fairytail members headed back home.

It turned out that the hardest part was the application form. Naruto could not answer the simplest questions with his amnesia other than his name. Makarov assured him though that he would take care of those small details. As of today, He was an official member of Fairytail.

The guild was in a riot as usual. Naruto had to dodge a flying mug as he made his way to the bar where Erza and Mirajane were talking. Natsu and Gray were in the thick of the mob as small fights broke out. Naruto felt that it was going to take a while to get used to his new home.

"Oh Naruto, there you are." Mira greeted him as he approached. She took out a stamp and held it up. "Where would you like your mark?"

"Mark?" Naruto asked.

"It's the symbol of our guild. All of our members have them." Mira explained. Now that she mentioned it, Naruto recalled that Natsu had the Fairytail brand on his right arm. Lucy had it on the back of her hand.

"Where's yours then?" Naruto asked Mirajane.

Mirajane gave him a playful smile. "I can show you, but it's really private."

Naruto blushed as he realized what she meant. He thought about it for a minute. He wanted it to be somewhere meaningful. Then his eyes widened and he smiled, having thought of the perfect place. Naruto unzipped his jacket and pointed to the spot where his heart was located, "Right here."

Mirajane and Erza couldn't help but admire his well muscled body.

"What color would you like?"

"Orange" Naruto said automatically. Mira pressed the stamp over the designated spot, and when it was pulled away, an orange brand of the guild could be seen imprinted on his chest.

Just then Natsu came up to them and pointed at Erza. "Hey, we still have some unfinished business."

"Oh yes, well let us get to it then." Erza stood and the two combatants walked outside. Naruto and the rest followed.

"Um, Naruto?" Mira said. She was blushing slightly. "You might want to zip up your jacket."

Naruto realized that he left his jacket unzipped.

"Why, you don't like what you see?" He said playfully. Mira blushed even harder. Naruto laughed and zipped up his clothing and followed the rest outside to watch the fight. This was going to be interesting.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The Magic Council

Naruto stood among the small crowd of onlookers that had assembled outside the guild hall as he watched Erza and Natsu square off against each other. Next to him was Elfman Strauss, Mira's younger brother. There was not much family resemblance except for the silver-white hair. He was somewhat of a giant in Naruto's opinion. Naruto's height only reached up until Elfman's massive shoulders. He looked pretty intimidating too, with the scar on his face. He crossed his arms as he observed the fight.

Naruto had to admit, both fighters were impressive in their own unique way.

Erza had switched into one of her armors that seemed to negate fire. She swung her red sword as a pillar of flame shot towards her, the fire instantly diminishing. Natsu was on fire, literally. His hands were ablaze and he kept swinging his flaming fists at Erza, hoping to get past her defense and land a blow. From time to time he shot fire at her from his mouth, but it wasn't very effective against Erza's flame empress armor.

Naruto watched Natsu as he kept assaulting Erza. No matter how many times Erza knocked him down, Natsu just kept getting back up. Despite all of this, Natsu never lost the smile he wore. For a moment, Naruto saw another battle taking place in his mind's eye. He saw himself and another boy who had white eyes irises and long hair standing in huge arena. The other boy was patronizing him and mocking him, telling him that people were only destined to be what they are. Naruto grew angry and unleashed an enormous reserve of manic energy. The wind started to pick up as Naruto's energy began to skyrocket.

Naruto was shook out of his thoughts as Erza dodged a pillar of fire that was directed at her. Unfortunately, Naruto was in the way of the flame's path and barely managed to avoid the attack along with some others.

"Hey, Naruto..." Elfman gestured toward his elbow.

"What are you- gah!" Naruto quickly started to put out the fire on his right sleeve.

The fight was beginning to heat up as Natsu and Erza decided to take it up a notch. On the side, Naruto noticed that Cana had started a betting booth. Natsu gave a shout and his flames burned brighter as he charged at Erza. The two combatants were both about to strike again, when a loud clap stopped them.

"Stop this fight." A voice called out. Naruto turned to the speaker and was startled to see a frog wearing regal robes striding through the crowd. Somehow though, Naruto didn't find that all shocking.

The frog brought out a document and cleared its throat as it began to read. "By the order of the Magic Council and by the many counts of property damage, one of your guild members is being charged with these. Another one of your members has been found guilty of being a rogue mage."

The crowd tensed for a moment before the frog spoke again. "Erza Scarlet and Naruto Uzumaki, you are both under arrest."

* * *

Naruto and Erza sat on one of the couches at the Magic Council's headquarters. They were told to wait in the room until they were summoned. Naruto felt restless and the handcuffs that were restraining him didn't improve his mood. Neither of them had spoken a word since they both got here.

At first, Naruto thought it was a joke. The guild looked pretty worried when the frog messenger or whatever, began to escort them away. Erza explained that the Magic Council was the ruling government of Fiore, composed of some of the most powerful mages in the land. Naruto couldn't care less about the council because based on the charges that were pressed against them, it seemed pretty shallow. If property damage and a false accusation led to an arrest, he'd hate to see what murder would get him.

The frog came back after a few minutes. "The council will see you now."

He and Erza stood and followed the frog as it led them toward the trail room. Naruto had to admit the place was impressive. Columns lined the corridors. Naruto had never seen such architecture. If this was only a branch of the magic council's headquarters, then he bet that the one in Era was ten times grander then this.

Naruto noticed that there were many frog-like creatures roaming the building. All of them wore regal robes and tall hats. He had a vague memory concerning frogs. He couldn't place it but the thought of talking frogs didn't seem foreign to him.

Naruto was thinking about what connection he had to frogs when he suddenly bumped into Erza. He noticed that she had stopped walking and was looking toward something. Naruto followed her gaze and landed on a man leaning on a column. The man smiled as they noticed him. The frog got down on its knees and bowed to the man as he approached.

"Seigrain," Erza whispered.

"It's been a while, Erza." He said. The man wore a long white coat with black outlines, he had blue hair and was about Naruto's height and had some sort of tattoo on his face over his right side. He smirked as he noticed Erza tense.

"Relax, I'm only sending a projection from Era." Seigrain said. "I didn't think it would be important to attend a trivial matter."

Erza's eyes hardened. "You're the one who's behind this?"

"Come now, you know that I have always defended Fairytail." Seigrain said. "But the other council members are afraid that the blame for Clover's destruction will fall on them. That's why you're here. We need a scapegoat."

Erza clenched her fists. It was taking all of Naruto's self-control not to punch this guy in the face. Seigrain walked up to Erza and leaned in close to Erza.

"One other thing, Erza," Seigrain's voice dropped to a whisper. "Don't mention anything about our relationship to anyone else, for your sake."

Naruto had heard just about enough of this crap. He was clearly mocking Erza and Naruto wasn't let anyone talk to any of his friends that way. "Why don't you just shut up?"

Siegrain and Erza both turned to him. Naruto stepped closer to Seigrain and glared at him.

"I don't know who or care who the damn hell you are, but if you mock any of my friends again…" Naruto let the threat hang. Seigrain only looked amused. The frog attendant gasped.

"You must be Fairyatil's new recruit." Seigrain said. "What was your name again?"

"Naruto." He answered.

Seigrain nodded. "A word to the wise Naruto, it is not favorable to have a member of the council as your enemy."

Naruto knew he was right, but his impulse got the better of him. Even though he was just a projection, Naruto grabbed his collar and pulled him closer. Seigrain himself was surprised that he had managed to come in contact with the projection. Naruto locked eyes with Seigrain who was actually nervous. The councilman noticed that the blonde's eyes had turned red with an animalistic, vertical black slit for the pupil. Saigrain felt another kind energy touch his senses and his eyes widened in fear. Who was this man?

The blonde continued to glare at the councilman, "Word to the wise right back at ya: whether It's with words or actions, I don't like people upsetting my friends."

Naruto let go and his eyes returned to normal. Seigrain regained his composure and the projection disappeared. Naruto turned to see Erza looking at him in worry.

"You shouldn't have done that, Naruto." Erza said seriously. "He's right, you don't want the council as an enemy."

Naruto shrugged. "I've got worse things to worry about than some entitled group of pricks."

The frog attendant had gotten over its initial shock and began to lead them again toward the room where the trial was taking place.

"...But thank you, Naruto," Erza said softly, "I appreciate your intention."

He smiled at her and she smiled back, "Any time." He told her .

* * *

Naruto stood in front of the seven council members as a frog official declared beginning of the trial. The council observed him warily. Erza had been trialed ahead of him and was taken away after. He didn't know where exactly, but probably the same place where prisoners go.

Naruto stared at the council. Four of them were elderly. Seigrain sat among them watching him warily. A striking young woman with long dark hair caught his attention. She watched him with an amused smile.

The head speaker began to address him. "You stand before the council, Naruto Uzumaki, with the charge of being a renegade wizard. You acted against Eisenwald without the membership of an official guild."

He paused and Naruto took that as his chance to speak up. "In my defense, I was already on my way to join a guild when everything with Eisenwald happened. Just got caught up in things with how events happened so quickly."

"So we've heard." the councilman in the middle said. "But pray tell, why that particular guild? You were in the presence of over a dozen guild masters. You could have chosen any one of the other eligible guilds, yet you joined Fairytail. Did Makarov coax you into joining?"

The council members stared at him suspiciously. Naruto clenched his fists. He had to admit, they had a point. He could have joined any other guild besides Fairytail, but that wouldn't feel right. Still, he didn't like them talking about the master that way, but he forced himself to calm down.

"None of the others offered, and because of the Eisenwald incident, I learned to work with the members of Fairytail since there were none from the other guilds present. Why are you so against my guild?"

The older council woman spoke up. "They are an unruly bunch. They have caused us more problems than we can count."

"But they have averted many major threats to our society." A small councilman countered. He wore a small hat and could barely only be as tall as master Makarov. He stared at Naruto in sympathy.

"Of course you would take their side, Yajima." The councilman in the middle sighed.

"I am merely stating a fact." Yajima pressed. "If it weren't for them, who knows what else might have happened with Lullaby."

"At what cost? They nearly destroyed Clover." A councilman on the far right argued.

"Maybe if you had helped instead of arguing and blaming people who had actually done some good, then we could have avoided this. I mean, would you have preferred the alternative and let Eisenwald use Lullaby to kill everyone rather than us having stopped that from happening?" The words had left Naruto's mouth before he could stop them. All eyes turned to him. Identical scowls were formed on each of the council members' faces. Seigrain just continued to watch in amusement.

"Are you saying that the council is responsible for the events that have transpired?" The head councilman said after a few moments of silence.

Naruto held his gaze "That is ex- ."

"Exactly the opposite of what the lad is trying say." Yajima quickly interrupted. He flashed Naruto a warning look. "He is merely stating the lack of military action that was needed during the Eisenwald incident."

The other council members didn't look convinced. Yajima was clearly sticking his neck out for him, but the other council members did not fully agree with him. As far as they were concerned, by pointing out that a terrorist group would have been able to commit mass murder if no one had done anything about it, Naruto had just insulted them and undermined their authority. Naruto hated politics.

"No offense, Yajima, but I think Naruto meant exactly what he said." Seigrain spoke. He stared at the blonde with a confident smile on his face. "Still, our friend here must be confused about how we operate, so why don't we just send him off with a warning this time. I'm sure he won't make the same mistake again. The same goes for the matter in Clover."

Seigrain smirked down at Naruto. He must have a great influence among the council because they grudgingly accepted. Yajima's shoulders slumped in relief.

"Very well, send him with the other one." The head councilman spoke. The sound of a hammer hitting a board signaled the end of the trial. Frog attendants came to escort Naruto from the stand.

Just before the projections disappeared though, Naruto locked eyes with a very smug Seigrain. His words rang in Naruto's ears: _I'm sure he won't make the same mistake again_. Seigrain made it sound like it was just a minor incident, but Naruto knew its true meaning. If he stepped out of line one more time, he was going to be in bigger trouble.

* * *

The next day Naruto found himself sitting in a table back at the guild. It wasn't that bad after the trial. He and Erza only spent the night in a prison cell, but were released the following morning. Naruto did feel disappointed that he didn't get to thank Yajima after speaking out for him. It was the least he could do.

He hasn't spoken a word of what happened with the council. He realized that he should act a little more carefully now because if he crossed the council again, Naruto was sure that the guild would pay the price, and he didn't want trouble for Fairytail.

Everyone was overjoyed and relieved when they got back. They threw a small party just for the heck of it. Naruto sat next to Erza as they ate their lunch. She had gotten quiet since they got back. Naruto had to wonder what past Erza had with Seigrain. He couldn't work up the courage to ask, but figured it was her business and he shouldn't pry, even if he wanted to help...

Natsu came up to them a little while later. He looked a little out of breath after the small riot he just started.

"Hey Erza, want to pick up where we left off?" He challenged.

Erza didn't even look at him. "...I'm not in the mood Natsu, maybe some other time."

Natsu looked disappointed. Naruto looked at Erza in concern. She kept her eyes on the table. The meeting with Seigrain had rattled her. But Naruto remembered his own promise as well.

Natsu turned to leave when Naruto stood. "Hey Natsu,"

The pink-haired boy looked back to see Naruto cracking his knuckles.

"Still wanna fight?" Naruto asked. He realized that he had caught the guild's attention, maybe because they hadn't seen him fight either. "You did say you wanted to fight me after we left Clover."

Natsu grinned in excitement. He slammed his fist into his palm. "Alright, I'm fired up!"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Naruto vs Natsu

The guild had gathered in the park where the battle would be taking place. They'd taken the fight there after Naruto had suggested a need for a bigger, more clear space so there would be less collateral damage. Fairytail chattered excitedly and placed bets on the two fighters. They all knew Natsu was tough, but they knew almost nothing about Naruto except that he helped out with the Eisenwald incident. It was a pretty even chance for both combatants. Naruto took in his surroundings and took deep breaths as he flexed his fingers.

Naruto had been in plenty battles and combat situations before. He couldn't explain it, but it felt like his body had remembered what his mind had forgotten. That would explain his fast reflexes and the way he seemed to react mostly on instinct. He breathed in the cool morning air.

Standing three meters away from him was Natsu. Naruto's eyes narrowed. Although Natsu remained still, he could not conceal the small twitch in his right hand. Naruto knew he was going to attack the moment the match started. He had seen that twitch before, it showed when a predator was about to attack its prey.

Erza stepped up to the middle of the field. She raised her hand and the guild fell silent. She dropped her hand signaling the start of the match. "Begin!"

As he expected, Natsu charged immediately. He lit both of his fists on fire and came at Naruto. Naruto sidestepped his first punch and ducked the second one. In his crouched position, he made a quick hand sign and summoned a clone that appeared directly behind Natsu. The pink-haired boy pivoted and slammed his fist into the clone before it could attack, which disappeared in a puff of smoke. In doing so, Natsu lost his focus on the original Naruto for a moment. But a moment was all what the blonde needed. As soon as Natsu turned to attack him, Naruto delivered two swift punches to his gut and swept his legs from under him. Natsu fell as Naruto jumped back. All of this happened in less than a minute.

The guild cheered loudly at the display. A few were impressed with Naruto's ability to make clones. But still, the fight had only just begun.

Natsu pushed himself back on his feet and sucked in a huge breath. Naruto knew what was going to happen next so he flashed a few more hand signs, yet he could have sworn for an instant, within Naruto's mind, Natsu was replaced with that of the arrogant, black-haired boy from Naruto's visions doing the same thing...

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" A huge blast of fire engulfed Naruto. A few guild members thought Natsu had gone too far. Some took steps forward to help, but the master held out a hand. Natsu ended the attack and expected to find a badly burned Naruto in front of him. What he didn't expect however, was a small charred log sitting where Naruto was. The guild members looked surprised at the development. Master Makarov just frowned thoughtfully.

Natsu's head swiveled side to side as he tried to find his opponent. He kept his fists on fire and held them at a ready position. Even some of the guild members could not see where the young blonde had gone. Natsu looked up as if expecting Naruto to drop on him from above. He was shocked, to say the least, when a hand shot from the ground and grabbed his ankle. Naruto burst from the ground and aimed a punch at the stunned dragonslayer. Natsu sailed back a couple of feet as the punch connected with his face. He landed with a grunt as Naruto dusted himself off.

"How did you do that?" Natsu asked, rubbing his face. He got back on his feet and resumed his fighting stance.

Naruto smirked. "I used a simple substitution technique. I actually failed to accomplish it on my entrance exam though."

"What?" Natsu asked in confusion.

"Never mind," Naruto responded. "I guess it's my turn now."

Naruto made a hand sign. "Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A huge puff of smoke consumed the whole battlefield. When it cleared, fifty clones surrounded Natsu. The pink-haired boy turned a full circle and prepared himself to strike down the first clone that attacked him. Natsu knew full well that when Naruto's clones could only take one hit before they dispersed. The problem was that there were too many of them. It also didn't matter unless he could find the real one. But he wasn't ready to throw in the towel just yet.

Naruto on the other hand, began to admire the boy's determination and heart. Stubborn kid, he thought to himself. Despite that though, Naruto smiled. He saw a lot of himself in Natsu. No matter how hard he pushed the boy down, he always got right back on his feet.

A match like this might be meaningless to most people, probably just a training exercise or a way to blow off steam. But he knew why Natsu always seemed eager to pick a fight. Naruto and Natsu knew that the only way to get stronger was to challenge the strongest opponents that there was. Natsu wanted to fight Erza because he knew that if he defeated her that would mean he was one step closer to becoming the strongest. Naruto felt the same way. That's why he and Natsu were giving this fight their one hundred percent.

The clones converged on Natsu. Natsu threw flaming punches at the nearest clones and the first five dispersed. The clones' memory came rushing back to Naruto. He tried to adjust his strategy. Naruto tried to blend in with his clones so that Natsu wouldn't be the wiser. Natsu kept destroying his clones. Natsu breathed a blast of fire again and twenty clones dispersed. As Natsu continued to defeat his clones, Naruto was beginning to have a clear sense of how Natsu fought. He began to formulate a plan.

Natsu fought brashly and wild. He doesn't think before he attacked and Naruto planed to use that to his advantage. Natsu had raw power and strength, he'd give him that; and while he admitted he liked the fearless, head-on attack method the pinkette used, the Uzumaki also felt it might be his shortcoming, all Naruto just had to figure out how to exploit it.

Natsu had already defeated most of his clones and that left four Narutos on the field. Natsu panted and prepared to advance again. Naruto created four more clones and prepared to attack as well.

"Hey, guys," The clones turned to the original. Naruto flashed a few hand signals and the clones nodded.

By now, Natsu had already spotted the original one. He saw one of them giving some sort of silent command. They were eight blondes standing in front of him, but that didn't matter. He'd burn all of them to a crisp.

Then Naruto shouted: "Now!"

The clones sprang into action. Natsu readied himself as the clones closed in on him. Two clones attacked him on either side, but he was ready this time. Natsu thrust out both of his flaming fists on both sides and slammed it into the clones. The next clone came at him with a kunai. The clone thrust the knife out toward Natsu's face. Natsu dodged it and rammed his knee into the clone. Natsu heard a shout from above and saw two clones coming at him from the air. Natsu leaped to meet them.

"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"

The clones dispersed as the fire engulfed them. Natsu landed in a crouched position when he heard a whistling sound. He looked up and saw a giant shuriken flying toward him. He fell backwards, barely dodging the weapon. When Natsu got back on his feet he saw Naruto and a clone forming a small glowing sphere in his hand. The clone dispersed and Naruto dashed toward Natsu. He only managed to take in a deep breath before he felt like time slowed down.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!"

"Rasengan!"

Naruto slammed his sphere into the pillar of fire that was shot toward him. The attacks collided and Naruto continued forward, holding out the blue sphere in front of him to avoid getting hit by Natsu's fire. Naruto could feel the intense heat of Natsu's flames but he continued to push forward. He struggled to keep his hand level with the fire.

Natsu could tell that Naruto was advancing, using his blue sphere as a shield. Natsu extinguished his fire suddenly, throwing the blonde off balance. Natsu lit his hand on fire and slammed it into Naruto's chest. The blonde fell back hard and landed on his back.

"The match is over!" Natsu heard Erza announce. Natsu smiled triumphantly. He turned to look at Naruto on the ground and saw that the blonde was also smiling. Natsu frowned and wondered why Naruto was grinning when he felt it. Something sharp gently touched the back of his head and along the front of his neck. Naruto stood.

"The winner of this match is Naruto!" Erza announced with a slight grin on her face, and the guild cheered loudly.

Natsu turned around to find another Naruto pointing a pair of kunai at him. The clone winked at Natsu before dispersing in a puff of smoke.

"How?" The pink-haired boy asked.

"You miscounted." Naruto replied. "Remember the shuriken?"

Natsu frowned in thought. He remembered eight clones moving to attack him. He defeated the ones coming from above before that shuriken …

Natsu palmed his face. "I forgot you could transform!"

Naruto chuckled good-naturedly. "Better luck next time."

"I want a rematch!" The Dragon Slayer demanded.

By that time the whole guild had encircled them. A few gave Naruto pats on the back, congratulating him for the victory. Money was exchanged as people won and lost their respective bets.

Happy tried to console Natsu. "It's okay Natsu, you'll win next time."

"I know I will! Let's go again, you and me, Naruto!"

Naruto sweat-dropped at the boy's challenge. "Haven't you had enough for one day?"

"That was quite a fight. You obviously have a lot of tricks up your sleeve, don't you boy?" The Master commented.

Naruto grinned. The Master cleared his throat and called for everyone's attention. "Well now after an exciting match, there's only one thing left to do. LET'S CELEBRATE EVERYONE, BACK TO THE GUILD HALL!"

* * *

Naruto sat at one table a little while later. Joining him were Lucy, Erza, Gray, Elfman, Happy, and a grumpy Natsu. The guild was in full party mode. Mirajane went from table to table serving everyone their food. Numerous voices shouting, laughing, arguing, and joking could be heard throughout the room. The people around the table stared at Naruto in amusement and awe. He had just finished his seventeenth bowl of ramen in less than twenty minutes. Finally, he set down the bowl after gulping down the soup and sighed.

"Man, that was good!" Naruto exclaimed. He looked over to where Mira was serving and called out. "You make the best ramen, Mirajane!"

The silver-haired woman smiled at him. "Why thank you, Naruto."

Elfman nodded in approval. "Yes, you have an appetite of a real man."

That's when a strange calm entered the room. Naruto felt himself getting drowsy all of a sudden. He looked around to see everyone falling asleep for no reason. Naruto's eyelids felt very heavy.

Gray groaned. "Oh no, not him, I hate it when he does…" Gray's head hit the table, unconscious. Naruto's mind felt blurry. Who was Gray talking about? He could feel himself drifting off, but he slapped himself awake. The effect was only temporary, he was drifting off again. His brain was ringing alarm bells in his head. Wake up you idiot, he told himself.

The rest of the guild was asleep now. His companions rested their heads on the table as they slept. He seemed to have an idea. Concentrating (kind of hard when you're sleepy), he ceased the flow of energy in his body. After a moment he released his hold and jumped to his feet. He felt wide awake.

Naruto saw that the Master was awake too. He sat at the bar, straining to keep his eyes open. He was moderately surprised when he saw Naruto standing.

A man walked in the guild hall. He wore a dark blue bandanna and cloth that covered his face, revealing only his eyes. His matching dark cape rustled as he walked up to the board where the guild members took jobs. He took down a piece of paper with a job description and approached the master. He carried along wooden staff.

"I would like this job." He said. Naruto had a strange feeling that he had heard that voice before. He didn't know why but it sounded recently familiar.

"Very well, take care of yourself," was the master's only reply. He turned to leave, but Naruto blocked his path.

"What are you doing?" Naruto questioned.

"Taking a job request," The man replied evenly.

"Yes, I can see that." Naruto said a bit irritated. "I meant, why are you putting the rest of our guild to sleep?"

"Naruto," Makarov spoke. "This is Mystogan, one of our S-rank mages here in the guild. What he is doing is completely harmless and understandable, all in an effort to keep his identity hidden."

"Why?"

Mystogan and Makarov shared a glance. "That's a private matter."

Mystogan stepped around Naruto and stopped beside him. He looked Naruto up and down.

"You are a very interesting mage." Mystogan concluded. "Only few have been able to withstand my sleep spell. I look forward to meeting you again, Naruto." He started for the door. Naruto heard him start to countdown.

"Three…Two…One…" Mystogan had left and the guild snapped awake again.

Naruto heard groans from people who fell asleep in very uncomfortable positions. Erza blinked multiple times to wash away the effects of drowsiness. The little celebration in the guild seems to have subsided thanks to Mystogan.

Lucy groaned. "What happened?"

"Mystogan," Gray responded, rubbing his sore neck.

Erza seemed to notice Naruto standing near the bar. "Naruto, how did you get over there?"

Naruto was about to answer when a loud voice spoke. "Impressive, you didn't fall for Mystogan's cheap trick like everybody else."

Naruto looked up to the second floor where a tall blonde man stood. An arrogant smirk was plastered on his face as he regarded Naruto. He had a lightning shaped scar over his right eye. He wore a pair of spiky headphones and a big coat with fur that lined the edges over his long sleeved polo. Naruto wanted to wipe that smirk off his face.

The master tried to keep his irritation from showing. "Laxus, this is Naruto, our newest member."

"I see." Laxus' smile turned into a sneer. "Another weakling has joined our guild."

At those words, some of the guild members flinched. Naruto clenched his fists to keep himself from lashing out at Laxus. How could he say such things to his own guild mates? Naruto wanted to tell the arrogant jerk to come down here and beat some sense into him, but Natsu beat him to the punch.

"Laxus," Natsu said angrily, "Fight me!"

Laxus only grunted. "Please, you're not worth my time."

He turned to leave when Naruto's voice stopped him. "What's the matter, afraid to get your ass kicked?"

Naruto heard his guild mates gasp. Apparently no one has ever talked back to the blonde man before. Naruto saw Erza shaking her head when he caught her gaze. Other people couldn't decide whether Naruto was brave or insane. His taunt seems to have struck a nerve because what Laxus did next caught him completely off guard.

A bolt of lightning struck the floor in front of Naruto. When the light subsided, Laxus stood there glowering at him. It happened so fast that Naruto didn't have time to blink. Naruto met his angry glare and they had a silent face off for a while.

The guild was so quiet Naruto swore he could hear everyone's pounding heartbeats.

"What did you say?" Laxus said angrily.

"You heard me, you spark plug-sucking prick."

Laxus' hands threw sparks as his anger peaked. Naruto drew his kunai.

"Laxus!" Makarov warned. The master trained his stern gaze on him.

Laxus hesitated for a moment before his smirk returned. He turned to leave. Naruto heard him mutter under his breath: "… Not worth my time anyway." With that he disappeared in a flash of lightning.

The guild members released a breath they didn't realize they were holding. Makarov shook his head in disappointment.

"Forgive my grandson, Naruto, he has a bit of an attitude problem that needs fixing."

Naruto was quite surprised at the revelation. Not much resemblance, he thought. Maybe in regards to the hair though. Still, the guy was obviously seriously lacking in regards to the kind of heart the Master had.

"Making new friends everywhere I turn." Naruto muttered.

* * *

That evening, Naruto decided to explore the rest of Magnolia. He wandered aimlessly, having no particular destination in mind anyway. The town really glowed with life at night. The streets were lit with street lamps and by the many stores and retailers that sold an assortment of items. Naruto caught a whiff of mouthwatering dishes as he passed by some restaurants. A lot of people roamed around too. Naruto saw a group of friends heading to eat out, a small kid hanging on her smiling mother's arm, a young couple walking arm in arm, and other joyful looking people. It all felt really familiar and yet different at the same time.

His memories were a bit foggy, but resurfacing somewhat. He closed his eyes and tried to recall from his currently few memories. He remembered a huge village surrounded by a thick forest. He saw a big mountain with five great stone faces carved into it. He could remember the smell of ramen coming from his favorite food stall. He could see a man with a horizontal scar on his face. Naruto felt happy when he saw the man. It was his first teacher, the man who made him a…

"Naruto!"

Naruto's eyes opened and he found himself back in Magnolia. Natsu and Happy were running to approach him.

"Hey Natsu, Happy; what's up?" Naruto greeted casually.

"Want to come with us to Lucy's house?" Natsu asked.

Naruto didn't have any other plans tonight so he agreed. "Sure, lead the way."

There was something odd about the pink-haired teen tonight. He wore a mischievous grin that Naruto knew all too well.

"Natsu, what are you up to?" Naruto asked. Natsu just shook his head and kept smiling. Naruto asked Happy the same thing but the blue cat just held his paws to his mouth and shook his head. Naruto had a bad feeling about this.

They arrived at Lucy's house twenty minutes later. Naruto was about to knock on the front door when he noticed Natsu and Happy flying up to the window. He guessed Lucy was in for a shock when she got home. Sighing, Naruto planted his foot on the wall and started to walk vertically on it with chakra until he reached Lucy's window. For some reason Natsu and Happy were both doing push-ups.

Naruto entered the cozy little apartment and walked around. It had a simple design. A desk, a table, and a bed occupied the larger room. Naruto saw a small kitchen and a bathroom at the far end. Well, at least she had an apartment. Naruto had to make arrangements with Makarov to sleep in Fairytail's wine cellar until he could earn some money and get his own place.

Natsu had changed into one handed push-ups when Lucy arrived.

"What are you doing in my house?!" Lucy shrieked.

Naruto shrugged innocently. "Natsu invited me."

Said boy was still doing push-ups on the floor. He looked up to face Lucy.

"Glad you're here." Natsu said. "We have to keep ourselves fit for our next job."

The Celestial mage frowned. "What job?"

Happy brought out a piece of paper and handed it to Lucy with a knowing look.

Naruto looked over Lucy's shoulder as she read the job description. He only caught one glance when Lucy shrieked again: "Eight million jewel to lift a curse on an island?! That could set me up for months!"

Naruto took the paper from her hands. His jaw dropped when he saw the reward money. Boy, there was a lot of zeros. But there was no way a job with this kind of reward money would be posted on the request board.

Then he noticed the ranking and his eyes widened."Tell me you didn't..." the Uzumaki said. Erza had explained to him earlier that she, Laxus, and Mystogan were S-class mages. The second floor of the guild hall was off-limits to those who are not S-class. Erza explained that S-rank jobs were extremely difficult and very dangerous to accomplish. Naruto understood that Natsu wanted to prove himself, but maybe he'd gone a bit too far with this one.

"I snatched it from the second floor when everyone wasn't looking." Happy said proudly.

"S-class!"

Naruto sighed. He turned to Lucy. "Are you okay with this?"

Lucy fidgeted. "Well it sounds pretty dangerous, but the reward…"

Natsu pushed himself into a standing position. He turned to Naruto. "What about you, you want to come?"

Naruto had to admit the reward was tempting. Even if they split the money among themselves, that was still a lot. Then again, this was an S-rank mission. Erza and Mystogan were strong. If that was an S-rank mage, then their set of missions must be extra hard. Besides, Naruto felt that it would be better if he undertook a job of his own. He wanted to earn his own living expenses, not just taking a cut from someone else.

"No thanks," Naruto said. He looked Natsu and Lucy dead serious in the eye. "Look, you guys, this could get you expelled from the guild! If you can live with that and are seriously going to go through with this, you three need to be really careful. This isn't like the time with Eisenwald. It's going to be a lot harder than that. If you feel as if you can't handle it or you start having doubts, abandon the mission, alright?"

"But-," Natsu tried to protest.

"Promise me you will." Naruto urged them both. The two looked at each other and back to Naruto. They both nodded.

The two saw Naruto's shoulders fall in relief. Lucy felt touched by Naruto's concern for their well being. In the short time they spent together, Lucy could see that Naruto was brave, thoughtful and kind. She had only known him for a short time but she began to look to him as an older brother that she never had. She was determined to keep her promise.

Naruto placed a hand on both of their shoulders. "You should leave before the sun rises. That should give you a head start. But it won't take long before gramps knows you're gone."

Naruto turned to leave but stopped near the window and looked over his shoulder. "Don't worry, I won't tell. Just make sure you don't fail and come back alive."

With that being said, Naruto leaped out of the window and started to dash among the rooftops.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: The Job Request

Naruto was floating in a dark empty space. He felt numb for some reason. He just drifted through the endless darkness around him. The sensation felt familiar for some reason. Naruto wasn't dreaming, he could tell that much. The way he could feel his deep intake of breaths and the familiar heartbeat, it was too real.

After a long while, Naruto was beginning to wonder if he was going to stay like this forever. The darkness just never seemed to end. He tried to move his arms around and swim through it because the sensation was similar to being under water. He flailed around uselessly.

Just then, Naruto saw an outline of huge figure of some sort of animal lying down. As he drifted closer, the features of the creature were becoming more noticeable.

It was a huge orange fox. He could see razor sharp claws attached to its massive figure. Its intimidating size was enough to crush mountains. He could feel the massive energy reserves radiating from the fox. If Naruto had to describe it in one word, powerful would seem like a fitting attribute. The only bizarre feature Naruto could spot was that the fox had nine tails.

"Kyuubi," Naruto spoke suddenly.

The fox heard Naruto's voice and opened one gigantic eye. Its red feral slits focused on Naruto.

 **"Naruto,"** The Kyuubi spoke in a deep voice. **"You have lost your way..."**

* * *

The next morning Naruto woke from his seated position, leaning on a tree. He sat up and stretched. Naruto yawned widely as he stood and rubbed his slightly aching back. A rock had lodged itself in the ground where he slept and it made sleep almost impossible last night.

He decided to skip breakfast for now. He gathered his rucksack and made sure his gear was still intact. When he felt satisfied, he grabbed his belongings and began to dash among the trees. His current destination now was Lupinus town, where he will complete his first job request.

The following morning, after Natsu and Lucy undertook the S-class request, Naruto decided to go on a mission of his own. He didn't plan to spend the rest of his nights sleeping in the basement. The Master had quickly found out about Natsu thanks to Laxus who claimed to have seen a small blue cat snatch up a request from the second floor. They sent Gray to bring back the two for punishment. Naruto felt sorry for those two when they got back.

His job was fairly simple. Defeat a horde of undead that have been terrorizing a town. The reward was good, eight hundred thousand jewel. That could at least enable him to rent an apartment. It would also last until he took on a new job.

Mira had helped him pack for the journey ahead of him. She even insisted on accompanying him to the train station to see him off. Naruto courteously declined, saying that he won't be taking the train.

"Then how will you get to Lupinus?" He remembered Mira asking. Naruto just winked at her, leaving a confused look on her face as she wished him good luck.

Now, dashing among the trees, feeling the wind in his face, Naruto felt rejuvenated. This form of travel suited him. He never felt comfortable sitting idly inside a train. He preferred to be on the move himself. That way he could always adjust his route whenever possible.

As he traveled, Naruto couldn't stop thinking about his encounter with the Kyuubi. The fox had some sort of connection to his past. Naruto couldn't explain it, but he knew the Kyuubi was a big part of who he was. The fox was a part of him somehow, he could feel it. Now, Naruto only had to find a way to contact him again, if he could just learn how.

By half an hour past noon, he began to see a faint outline of a town. Naruto stopped to perch on a high branch as he rummaged through his rucksack and brought out a map. Mira had given this to him in case he needed a reference of the landscape. The map confirmed that the town ahead of him was Lupinus. Tucking away the map, Naruto resumed travelling.

"Who needs trains? Not me." Naruto smirked to himself, practically hearing Natsu's moaning, groaning, and cursing him for being a 'lucky bastard' while trying to avoid hurling from here.

* * *

Upon arriving at his destination, Naruto wandered through the streets of the town, trying to look for the mayor's office or whoever ran the place. The paved stone road was filled with vendors and stalls. The buildings were neatly and systematically arranged. A whole block was full of stores that sold different kinds of clothing. Another sold food and other delicacies. The whole town was decorated for a festival. So why do the people look like they were preparing for a funeral instead?

Everywhere he looked, Naruto was met with the weary and sad expression on everyone's faces. A few men were glumly hanging a banner for a celebration of some sort, Naruto saw a child, a young girl, clinging to her mother's clothes as they walked by. The girl was frowning because her mother looked so sad.

"What's wrong mommy?" Naruto heard the girl ask. He looked back to see that the mother had knelt down to face her daughter.

"It's nothing honey," The mother assured the little girl. She looked like she was trying to keep herself from crying. "I'm just… afraid of tonight."

"Why?" The daughter asked.

The mother couldn't stand it any longer as she burst into tears and hugged her daughter tightly. She sobbed and her daughter, not knowing what was happening, was confused about why her mother was crying. Other citizens looked on them with sympathy but made no move to comfort the mother.

This left Naruto thinking: What the hell is going on here?

Naruto found the mayor's office at the center of town. The secretary was reluctant to let him convene with the mayor until Naruto explained about the job request. When he entered the small office and sat down on one of the chairs in front of the desk. He was told to wait until the mayor arrived.

He began to pace the little office space as time dragged on. There was a small bookshelf to the left wall that contained a small collection of books. The chair behind the desk faced away from the window. Naruto spotted a small photographed picture of a family that consisted of a stocky middle-age man carrying a small raven-haired boy in his arms beside an elegant woman with long flowing brown hair holding a young girl that looked exactly like her. They all smiled as the shot was taken.

Naruto heard the door open as the same man on the photograph came in. He wore a simple black coat and tie. His beard was cut short. Most of all, he looked tired. His shoulders sagged as if the heavy weights he carried were about to crush him.

"You must be the S-class wizard from Fairytail." He stated. "My name is Saburo. I'm the mayor of Lupinus."

S-class?! Something about this didn't feel right...

Naruto shook Saburo's hand. "Nice to meet you sir, I'm Naruto."

Saburo sat down heavily on the chair behind the desk, clearly exhausted. "I believe you have received my letter regarding the change in the job description?"

"What change?" Naruto asked.

"In light of the circumstances," The mayor looked over his shoulder nervously as if someone might be eavesdropping on their conversation. "I have changed the rank of this request to S-Rank, provided that the reward was increased as well."

Something was definitely wrong here. Naruto had found the job on the normal request board.

Naruto frowned. "We didn't receive any information regarding these changes. Perhaps you're mistaken?"

Saburo's face fell. He slumped back into his chair. "This is terrible. What am I going to do now?"

The man looked close to breaking down. He regained his posture somewhat and sat up to face Naruto again.

"Sir, if I may ask, why change the request all of a sudden?" The whisked blond asked seriously.

"I sent that letter months ago!" Saburo exclaimed. Naruto could now see just how tired he really was. He tried to hide it, but the mayor has gone through quite the ordeal.

"It doesn't matter now, I guess..." Saburo said dejectedly. He stared at Naruto with desperate eyes. "Whoever you are, I hope you can save us, because if you don't, then all of the people in this town will die."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Death Festival

Naruto would admit that he wasn't the smartest guy in the world. Even with his missing memories, he was sure about that. But right now, the events were moving too fast for his brain to make sense of anything. So he tried to arrange the facts as chronologically and sensibly as possible.

First, Saburo sent a letter regarding the change in the job request seven months ago. The request was changed to S-rank due to the current situation they were in. Saburo explained that over the past year, the people have been growing desperate. Naruto had to listen intently as the mayor began to recount the events.

One night, out of nowhere a group of undead corpses came and attacked the town. The citizens of Lupinus were caught off guard as the massive numbers of the dead nearly overwhelmed them. They fought and were able to drive them away but of course, there were many casualties.

After that Saburo had placed a strict watch and added security measures just in case. It was fortunate that he did because the undead returned the following evening. Lupinus had no mages of their own to assist them which made it an even harder battle. These attacks continued for quite some time until they were forced to send for help. That was the original job request that Naruto took. But that was a year ago.

They were able to hold off the attacks and waited for help to arrive. That was until three hooded wizards arrived to tip the scales. It was clear that one of the wizards controlled the undead. With their combined magic, the people of Lupinus were forced to surrender. The identity of these mages was yet to be discovered. Their goal was also a mystery.

In exchange for sparing the town, the wizards asked for tributes every night to be sacrificed to them. In the dead of night, the undead would come and escort the volunteers back to their masters. At first, people volunteered to be taken away but as the weeks passed, the numbers have dwindled into few. Their population has decreased at an alarming rate since then. A town of four hundred citizens was reduced to a small ninety. If this continues, then there will be no one left.

When Naruto heard this piece of information, he slammed his fist on top of the mayor's desk in pure outrage. He decided right then and there that he would help these people even without the reward. Naruto was going to make these three wizards pay for what they did to this town. He felt his anger boiling up inside of him.

After their discussion, Saburo decided to let Naruto reside in his house due to his lack of money. Naruto tried to decline, but the man was insistent. Now, they walked in silence as they made their way to Saburo's house.

With his new understanding of the situation in Lupinus, Naruto now knew why the citizens were dreading tonight. He understood their clear mistrust of strangers and how they were reluctant to approach him earlier. It saddened him to think of a once lively town turn into this.

"The whole town will gather in the square tonight." Saburo informed him. "That is where they usually claim their tribute."

Naruto nodded. "Do the wizards make any appearances during the selection?"

"No, only the undead escort the person back into the forest." Saburo responded. "We only know they are mindless and obviously under the control of a wizard. So it is possible that the controller will be observing at a distance to make sure everything goes accordingly."

They continued in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes. Naruto could not think of any topic to start a small conversation. Saburo did not make any attempt in the matter. Naruto couldn't blame him. He obviously had other things to worry about.

After a few more minutes, they reached Saburo's house at the corner of the street, a simple two story high building with a small porch on the front. The sun was almost setting by the time they arrived. Naruto followed Saburo to the front door.

"I'm home," Saburo called out as he entered the house. Naruto followed behind him. He heard light footsteps from the second floor. A young boy, maybe eight years old, came running down the stairs to and met Saburo with a hug.

"Dad, you'll never guess what I found today!" The little boy said excitedly.

"And what is that, Lance?" Saburo asked curiously.

Lance stepped back from his father and whistled. "Toby, come here boy!"

Just then, Naruto could hear small barks coming from the living room. A small brown puppy with floppy ears and a short tail burst from the room and jumped into the boy's arms. The puppy began to lick the laughing boy's face. Naruto smiled at the sight.

Lance turned toward his father with hopeful eyes. "I found him wandering through the streets. He didn't have collar so that means he doesn't belong to anyone. Can I keep him?"

Saburo pondered at this for a moment. He fixed his son with a stern look. "It's a big responsibility."

"I'll take care of him!" Lance hastily reasoned. "I'll feed, walk, and clean up after him. Please."

He gazed up at his father with pleading eyes. The dog barked in agreement. Naruto just watched the communication between parent and child.

Then a young woman appeared from the kitchen. She was no doubt the other child of Saburo that Naruto saw from the photograph. Obviously a few years older, she wore an apron over her green blouse and shorts. The girl held a ladle in her left hand. She brightened as she spotted her father. Naruto couldn't help but admire her seemingly effortless beauty that she radiated.

"Dad, you're home early." She said. She came up and hugged her father. When she pulled away was when she took notice of Naruto.

"Who's your friend dad?" she asked.

Saburo slapped his forehead. "Of course, where are my manners?"

"Children, this is Naruto Uzumaki." He introduced. Naruto smiled and raised a hand in greeting. "Naruto, this is my daughter Alexa and my son Lance."

The dog barked excitedly. Saburo paused then added with a sigh. "And this is Toby, our dog."

Lance quickly turned to his father. "Does that mean I can keep him?"

Saburo smiled at him. "Yes, you can keep him."

Lance gave a whoop of triumph then carried Toby with him to the living room.

"So, Naruto what brings you to Lupinus? We rarely get visitors." Alexa said, striking up a conversation.

Naruto scratched his head. "I came hear for the job your dad requested from my guild."

The moment he said that, Naruto wished he hadn't. Alexa's face darkened. She gripped her ladle so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Naruto could sense the silent fury she felt and it was directed toward him for some reason.

"...Dinner will be ready in a few minutes." She said to no one in particular. She gave Naruto one last cold look. After that she swiftly left and headed back to the kitchen.

Naruto raised his eyebrows in confusion and Saburo gave him an apologetic smile. Afterwards, Saburo led Naruto upstairs to a spare bedroom he could use. The room was small and simple. Naruto placed his belongings on the bed and sat on the mattress.

"You'll have to forgive Alexa," Saburo spoke after a moment of silence. "She dislikes mages and other magic users."

"Why?" Naruto asked

Saburo sighed and sat down next to Naruto on the bed. "It's because of her mother."

Naruto frowned. "What happened?"

"She wasn't normally like this," Saburo explained. "Ever since the attacks, the people have been growing weary. And when the pact was made between the wizards everything got worse. Night after night, people left and never came back. I sent a scouting party to follow them into the forest after the choosing but they never returned.

"One night, a few months ago, as we gathered in the market square, we felt that hope was utterly gone. No more than half of us remained. No help was expected and we were prepared for the inevitable. The dead came and waited for a volunteer to speak up but no one did."

Saburo paused and took a deep breath. "That was when it happened. The spell caster must have been watching because he knew that there was no one volunteering. The dead surged forward to attack but then she volunteered…"

He began to choke up a little but continued somewhat. "I couldn't stop her…She insisted…I could've…My wife…"

Naruto awkwardly patted his back when he couldn't say anymore. He now understood the pain behind Saburo's family and the heavy burden he carried.

"So now she blames the mages who failed to take action and who could have saved her mother." Naruto guessed. "And that was when you sent the letter."

Saburo nodded. Now that Naruto thought about it, Alexa's behavior was understandable and expected.

Saburo stood. "I'll give you time to settle in. Dinner is in a few minutes."

Saburo left the room and left Naruto to his thoughts. Is this how it was like for the other families in Lupinus, afraid of the horrors when evening came and wishing that the sun would never set? Naruto thought about that little girl and her mother earlier today. He thought about Lance and how happy he was acquiring Toby. There were still children who knew very little about the world. He closed his eyes, mind churning about the three wizards who caused all of this grief.

 _He was in another place. He was lying on his chest with his hands stabbed into the ground by a black metal rod. A huge crater surrounded him. A man with orange hair and many piercings stood over him. He wore a black cloak with red cloud designs._

 _"Love is the reason why there is pain." He said. "When we lose someone precious to us, hate is born. Vengeance is the product of that hate and so death follows. But in death there is only more death. This will give rise to more pains. In this cursed world we live in is a cycle of hatred that will not cease. You and I seek the same thing that Jiraiya-sensei wanted. Let me ask you this: How will you confront this hatred in order to create peace?"_

 _Naruto could not meet the man's eyes. He didn't know the answer to his question. It seemed like an impossible task to look for peace. But he couldn't give up because his teacher had left him the task to find the answer to bring about peace. _

When Naruto opened his eyes as he heard Saburo calling him for dinner, he still couldn't think of an answer.

* * *

After dinner, Naruto headed upstairs to prepare his gear for his mission tonight. He was about to enter his room when he heard Toby barking in the other room with surprising insistently. Naruto opened the door to Lance's room to find it empty. Toby barked again and the sound came from the closet.

Naruto approached and opened the closet, finding Lance and Toby inside. "What are you guys doing in there?"

Lance looked down. "Hiding,"

"Hiding from what?" Naruto asked. He crouched down to be level with the boy.

"I don't know. I'm just…scared." Lance admitted.

Naruto could understand why. "Well, there's nothing wrong about that. But there are other ways to confront your fears you know."

Lance scrunched his eyebrows together. "Like what?"

"Well, you just did it. Admitting you're afraid." Naruto said. "That's good because if you know what you're afraid of, then you can overcome that fear and become stronger."

"Really?" Lance asked.

Naruto grinned at him and ruffled his hair. "Yep, and don't you forget it, dattebayo!"

Lance grinned and walked away from the closet. Toby quickly followed. Naruto stood and went to his room to prepare the things he might need for tonight because he had a feeling that it would be a long one.

* * *

Naruto stood among the citizens of Lupinus as they assembled in the town square. Families clung towards one another. The silence was heavy. He could practically hear the people's heartbeats and breaths. They waited for the inevitable.

Saburo, who stood next to Naruto, wrapped his arms around his two children. Lance looked up at Naruto and the blonde gave him a reassuring smile. The boy tried to smile back but failed.

Naruto did have a plan. If it worked, then he might just be able to end this tonight. Of course, he should consider the fact that he knew almost nothing about his enemies except for the one who controls the undead. The other two could be even more dangerous. He hoped that his strength was enough because if he failed, Naruto didn't want to think about what would happen.

He heard a twig snap in the forest. Rustling leaves and sounds of bodies approaching could be heard. The crowd tensed as the first body could be seen followed by two more. Gradually, more zombies could be seen approaching the square. Moving robotically and sluggish. In a few minutes they were surrounded by at least two hundred of the undead.

The zombies just stood there waiting. Naruto could see the multiple ways the undead have been killed. Some died by being stabbed, slit, beaten, and broken necks. Their decayed state ranged from dry bones to fresh kills. That sickened Naruto the most.

Heads of the people swiveled from side to side in anticipation. They were scared to death. They were waiting someone to volunteer but they didn't want to. They didn't want to lose another family member or friend. None of them wanted to be escorted into the woods where they know they will never come back. They just wanted this horrible nightmare to end.

A hand shot up from the crowd and a voice shouted. "I'll go!"

The people turned to look at the speaker. What they saw was a young blonde man moving through the crowd to face the zombies. They made way for him as he strode forward confidently. The citizens didn't understand one thing. The man was undoubtedly marching toward his death, so why was he smirking?


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Demon Guild

Naruto dashed silently among the trees as he followed the herd of undead corpses moving through the forest. So far, everything was going according to plan. The zombies took the bait as his clone was the one being escorted among their ranks. Naruto tried to keep a fair amount of distance from the mass of corpses to avoid being detected, but far enough to keep them in sight.

His shadow clone walked among the horde of undead as they continued to trudge toward their destination. Even from this distance, Naruto could see that his double was unbound. No restraints were applied on his clone leaving him capable of free movement. His captors were either very arrogant or very confident in their abilities. Naruto knew there was a huge difference between the two.

Naruto dashed to another tree and waited for a few moments before moving on to the next branch. The undead's pace was relentless but slow-going. Naruto even noticed one of the bodies drop to the ground for no reason and lay still. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the scene.

After about an hour of trekking, the procession came to a halt. The clone Naruto raised his eyebrows as he wondered if they reached their destination already. He didn't think so. They were still in the middle of the forest. The clone scanned his surroundings. He knew that the real Naruto was somewhere among the branches of the trees, following their progress.

"Well done my pets," A feminine voice rang out. "Another successful sacrifice and another step closer to awakening Lord Zeref!"

A hooded figure stepped out behind one of the trees in front of them. She pulled down her hood and long pale white hair fell over the mages shoulders. Her slightly slanted eyes and pinkish colored skin were her most prominent features. She held her index figure to her smirking lips as she strode forward. He noticed that she was a head shorter than him when she drew near. The undead parted before her as she moved to get a closer look at Naruto.

Also, she mentioned someone named Zeref. Naruto had heard that name before. He was the one who created the demon Lullaby, an ancient dark wizard from some distant era in the past. Hearing her mention his name was troubling.

A small smile graced her lips as she looked the blonde up and down. "What do they call you, handsome?"

Naruto met her gaze evenly as his bright blue eyes met her deep brown ones. "Ladies first."

Her smile widened. "Aren't you the gentleman? They call me Cynthia," she said, unable to resist the blonde's charm. "Your turn."

His clone hesitated a bit before answering. "Naruto."

"Hmm, Naruto," Cynthia said, trying it out. "What a strange name."

She then turned her back to him and made her way to the front of the procession. "That's enough small talk for now, let's move on."

With a casual flick of her hand, she signaled the undead to proceed forward. The real Naruto observed the proceedings from his hidden location. Naruto noticed that while Cynthia was introducing herself to his clone, two more of the undead corpses she controlled flopped to the ground for no particular reason. A theory started to form in his mind about Cynthia's magic, but it wasn't much to go on. Still, he had to make use of whatever assets he has.

Naruto then decided to track them with even greater caution. There was no telling if Cynthia could detect his presence or not. Better to be safe than sorry, he thought.

* * *

After another hour of endless marching, the trees began to thin out and lessen as they emerged into a vast open grass field. Naruto cursed mentally as the cover that the trees provided began to decrease. He knew he couldn't get any closer to them without being seen. Unfortunately, he could barely see what was going on in the space in front of him. He would have to hang back for a little while until he was confident enough to make his move. Failure was not an option tonight. His clone also noticed this as they lead him toward the raised square platform on the open space.

The structure was similar to that of a ziggurat, a step pyramid, only smaller. Made of some sort of marble-like rock, smooth edges, Naruto could see that the top was led to by stairs on all four sides. Two cloaked figures stood waiting at the base of the steps in front of them. They came to a halt just a few meters away from the two.

The two mages approached them and Cynthia signaled for the undead to make way for them. The corpses parted before the three mages as they approached Naruto. He observed the profile of his two new adversaries.

All three of them bore the same silver white hair. The one on the right hunched, making him look shorter than he really was. His hair was cut short and messy. What was the most bizarre thing about him were his eyes. His left eye had a yellow glowing quality to them, while his right iris was a bright green. Naruto turned his attention to the one in the middle.

He was the tallest among the three. His pale white hair was greasy and had a mop-like quality to it. He had a broad jaw and a tattoo on the left side of his face: a black crescent moon. He wore a strip of cloth that was tied around his forehead, like Naruto's head protector. Naruto didn't know why, but he had a bad feeling about him.

They all stopped in front of him.

The tallest mage scrutinized Naruto's copy. "You're different."

"How so?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow. The mage was studying him from head to toe.

"But you have to admit, Kentaro," Cynthia spoke, eyeing the blonde. "He's gorgeous!"

The other mage with the mismatched eyes grunted. "It doesn't matter. The ritual goes as planned."

Cynthia pouted. "Pity, we could have had so much fun together."

There was an insane glint in her eye that made Naruto nervous. For some reason, Naruto could tell that they both had a different definition of "fun".

Kentaro studied him for a moment longer before turning his back to him. "No, Neil is right. The ritual proceeds without question. Bring him."

Cynthia was more than willing to wrap her arms around Naruto's as they started to make their way to the top of the ziggurat. She rested her head on Naruto's shoulder like they were a couple walking to dinner or something. Naruto did not like contact between them. Something was off about her. That went for her companions as well; Kentaro and Neil.

"If you don't mind me asking," Naruto said. "What kind of ritual is this?"

Cynthia giggled as if it was a silly question. "Oh don't worry, you won't feel a thing. Besides, you don't need to know, you're not a mage after all."

That was right. They thought he was a citizen of Lupinus. Well they were in for quite a surprise later on.

"One other thing..."

"Hmm?"

"You three are from a dark guild, aren't you?" Naruto's tone was accusing and menacing. The three wizards were slightly caught off guard for a second. Kentaro looked over his shoulder to see two pale blue eyes glaring at him. Something about this man was…unnerving. He could see it in the blonde's eyes.

Naruto had pieced it together when Cynthia mentioned Zeref. He had only encountered one so far, and that was Eisenwald. Now he was certain about what he was up against: Dark Wizards who might be more powerful than Erigor.

"At least you're not as dumb as you look." Neil commented. He on the other hand didn't give any thought about Naruto. He was just another random citizen to be slaughtered for the cause. If that was the case, then why was Kentaro observing the blonde with a sense of uncertainty?

Naruto shook his arm free of Cynthia's grip and the girl pouted. They continued to climb the flight of stairs leading to the top of the ziggurat. Naruto scanned his surroundings as he stepped on to the last stair.

It was a very spacious area. A stone altar was positioned at the far opposite side. Runes were carved into the stone, forming a perfect circle in the middle. Naruto figured they must be ancient text from a past era long before this one. Cynthia and Neil escorted Naruto onto the circle of runes while Kentaro approached the altar to retrieve something.

When he turned, he held a gleaming long double-sided dagger about twelve and a half inches. A red glowing crystal was placed at the pommel. Naruto felt a demonic presence linger over them; a hungering presence with an insatiable appetite for blood. At first he couldn't pinpoint the source, but then Naruto found it. It was coming from the dagger.

Cynthia and Neil took their positions on either side of him and began to chant. The runes engraved on the floor around Naruto lit up in a dark red color. He could feel the dark and evil energies begin to flow around him. He had to escape. Or at least take down one of them.

Naruto rushed toward his left side toward Cynthia, hoping to tackle her. Maybe if he knocked one of them unconscious then the spell or whatever they were doing would be disrupted somehow. Once he reached the edge of the rune circle, he hit an invisible barrier and stumbled backward. He couldn't get through.

Naruto could see that Kentaro also joined in the chanting as he held the dagger with both hands above his head. The dark magical energies began to swirl around Naruto as the three began to chant faster.

"…The seal shall be released by the blood of the unwilling." Kentaor recited. "And a new era shall come forth. The Herald of Doom shall aide us in this endeavor. The death of innocence shall awaken him."

Kentaro entered the circle of manic swirling energy and raised the dagger above his head, poised to strike Naruto down. The blonde stared at him, inhaled deeply and waited for the fatal blow. He hung his head to hide the small smirk he had on his face. He wished he could have learned more about their abilities to give him an edge on the upcoming battle he knew was about to take place. There was nothing he could do about it now.

Kentaro brought down the dagger into a killing arc. The moment the blade made contact with Naruto's head, instead of splitting his skull in two, Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke. The three mages only had a moment to register the sudden turn of events before it started to rain shuriken on them.

* * *

The moment Naruto felt his clone's memories rushing back to him he had already thrown his two shuriken and flashed quick hand signs. "Multiple Shadow Shuriken Jutsu"

Hundreds of copies of the shuriken appeared and began to rain down on the group of dark wizards and the undead. Naruto created a clone and it puffed into existence beside him on the branch.

"You know what to do." The clone nodded and Naruto began to dash along the right side of the open field. He threw two more shuriken and flashed the same jutsu. Hundreds of shuriken took down many of the remaining undead corpses. Naruto figured that the mass of zombies was his biggest obstacle so far. If he didn't finish them of first the sheer numbers could overwhelm him. Plus he had another problem to deal with.

Neil suddenly appeared before him and threw a punch at Naruto. He blocked it with his right hand and sent him a thrust kick in the gut. The mage flew back a couple of feet and regained his footing instantly. Naruto realized that Cynthia and Kentaro was already there surrounding him in three different directions. They were fast.

"I knew something was different about you." Kentaro told him. "So, the people of Lupinus have enlisted the help of a guild. I think when we are done here maybe we should pay them a visit again to remind them of their place."

Naruto took out a kunai. "I guess I'll just have to stop you then."

"You're welcome to try," Kentaro chuckled. He spread his arms out wide, inviting him to attack. Naruto noticed that he was still carrying the sacrificial dagger in his hand. "Although you won't get very far."

"It's worth a shot."

Naruto decided to go for a diversionary tactic. He would have to defeat Neil first to get to Kentaro. He threw his kunai at Neil and summoned two shadow clones. The first clone held up his arms on either side of him and the other two ran up to him, using the clone's arms as a springboard, the other two blondes shot up into the air.

Neil, who was standing in front of Kentaro, dodged the kunai with ease. Naruto formed a rasengan in his hand and his clone grabbed his other arm and launched Naruto into Neil. The mage was unprepared for the quick follow up and would have taken a direct hit if a gigantic rock arm didn't suddenly grab Naruto out of the air.

"You didn't forget about me, did you?" Cynthia said. Naruto was being held by a huge earth humanoid figure. He struggled against its tight grip around his torso and arms to no avail. Naruto noticed that it was made of hardened soil. Cynthia rode atop the creature's shoulder.

Naruto glanced behind the big creature and saw a large portion of the field missing like it had been dug up recently. Very recently, Naruto thought. He realized that the creature was formed only a few moments ago.

"You're a naughty boy." Cynthia scolded. "I had to make a hasty reanimation spell after you destroyed my army of corpses." She sighed dramatically, "Guess I'll just have to make you my own personal pet after you die...that will more than make it up to me."

Naruto continued to struggle under the golem's grip.

"Give up, little mage," Kentaro's voice resonating loud across the field. "Save your energy and strength. You cannot defeat us."

Naruto was really starting to get annoyed. "No way!"

One of his shadow clones on the ground was still active. The clone made some hand signs and substituted himself with the real one. The clone disappeared in the earth golem's grasp as it dispelled with a puff of white smoke.

Once he could move again, Naruto created another shadow clone and they both charged at the creature. Naruto's clone formed a spiraling blue sphere in his hand and Naruto poured more chakra into it. The result was a huge blue sphere with a diameter of five feet.

"Odama Rasengan!"

The two blondes rammed the sphere into the golem's chest. The resulting explosion blew Cynthia away as Naruto obliterated the golem. Chunks of rocks and soil scattered. She landed on her back next to her companions.

"Bastard!" Cynthia shouted at him. Her flirtatious was demeanor gone and was replaced by vehement anger.

Naruto stood panting slightly after that last attack. Even with his enormous reserves, he should probably conserve most of his chakra for later. He couldn't afford to waste any on ineffective attacks. Especially since Kentaro remained unscathed and the other two barely injured. Damn.

"A worthy effort," Kentaro admitted. "Yet you still cannot hope to defeat us. Individually we are strong, together we are unstoppable. Never underestimate the power of the dark guild Tartaros."

Naruto frowned upon hearing the name of their guild. "Tartaros?"

"Yes, we are part of one of the three most powerful dark guilds in existence." Kentaro proclaimed. "The Grand Magic Council labels us the weakest among the Baram Alliance. Those fools will be proven wrong once we manage to succeed in our plans to come. They're so arrogant that they do not even know that they have traitors in their ranks."

Naruto frowned at the mention of the Council. They didn't exactly see eye to eye when Naruto was brought to a meeting with them. He wasn't very fond of them, especially Siegrain, but the thought of one of them being a dark wizard in disguise left a feeling of dread to pool inside his gut. The result would be catastrophic.

He shook his head to free himself from his thoughts. He couldn't afford to get distracted by something that was out of his control for the present. He had to focus on the task at hand. Right now, that was stopping these mages.

"So you think killing innocent people will change your status with the Council?" Naruto demanded. "What could you possibly gain from this?"

Kentaro grinned like a madman. "You fail to see the bigger picture. We dedicated our lives to unsealing the keys to awaken Lord Zeref. When he rises to full power again, he will usher in a new world where magic users will thrive and those without it shall perish. A world where Lord Zeref and his followers shall reign supreme over the rest of the weak and pathetic wizards out there, including yourself. In the end, you and the rest of the world will feel the great might of the One Magic!"

Naruto sighed. This thirst for power was what led to men's demise. He knew better than anyone how this desire can destroy a person. He lost his friend to the lures of power and revenge. When will it end? Wait...where did _that_ come from?!

"Well, setting aside the fact that you are completely insane." Naruto said, getting into a fighting stance. "I'm pretty sure I'll still be kicking your asses."

Kentaro chuckled darkly as he and his two companions readied themselves.

"Kill him." Kentaro ordered.

Naruto charged and summoned three shadow clones. Neil rushed forward and Cynthia molded three human size earth golems.

Neil met Naruto's first clone with an elbow to the gut. The clone disappeared and another clone aimed a kick at the mage's head. Neil grabbed the leg in midair, pivoted, and tossed the clone over his shoulder. That was his fatal mistake.

Turning back around he encountered the last clone that lunged toward him with a kunai. Neil grabbed the blonde's wrist and rammed his knee into the clone's abdomen, making him vanish in a puff of white smoke. Neil scanned the surroundings for the original Naruto only to see no one. He barely heard Cynthia's warning when something slammed into his shoulders from above. Before he blacked out from the pain, he caught a glimpse of the blonde man standing over him. What he did not understand was the look of sadness written on his enemy's face as he looked down at him.

Naruto had figured out his weakness when Cynthia's first golem disrupted his assault on Neil. Neil had the ability to analyze and predict his opponent's next move. However, to do this, he needed a visual on his attacker otherwise his ability was useless. For example, Neil turned his back on Naruto when he threw one of his shadow clones over his shoulder. It was only for a moment but in fierce battles like this, every moment was crucial.

Naruto crouched down and gently closed Neil's eyelids with his two fingers. He didn't revel in death or particularly wanted to kill. If he could, he would avoid killing his enemies but sometimes it was what had to be done. The corpse lying in front of him might have been a dark wizard with evil intentions. The same goes for his two guild mates as well, but they were still people. Neil was living person who had goals and dreams to accomplish no matter how sick and twisted.

They probably had reasons for causing all of what happened to the Lupinus citizens. Naruto knew that he would have to see through their eyes, feel their pain and walk in their footsteps to truly understand them. Who knows? If he were born in their place, he would be just like them, fighting for a misguided idea of a dead wizard ruling over the world of mages.

He sighed as he stood up to face his two other opponents, knowing that he probably had to end them as well. There was no reasoning with these people because they were set on their plans and it involved many people dying. He would just have to endure for the good of many. Because he knew that even though he had lost his memories, he would be able to endure any hardships to come his way. That's who Naruto is.

Cynthia and her three medium sized golems advanced. The earth creatures were much more agile than the one before, he noticed. Naruto figured that it must be the decrease in size. They were much lighter and quicker. They managed to cover the distance between them in less than five seconds.

He dodged a heavy overhead chop to the head from one golem and blocked a quick follow up roundhouse kick with his right arm. Naruto failed to see a second golem launch a heavy punch directed at his face. The earthen fist connected and sent Naruto sailing through the air. Pain throbbed on the spot where the golem's punch hit him. He back flipped in midair and managed to land on his feet before he skidded to a halt.

Cynthia gave a shouted command and the three golems rushed at Naruto once again. He was ready this time. He had begun to formulate a theory about Cynthia's magic. About how she can reanimate nonliving objects such as dead bodies and soil. He wasn't entirely sure about it though. It was time to put it to the test.

"All right you dirt bastards let's see how fast you can really move."

Naruto summoned one shadow clone and the two ran forward to meet the assault head on.

The first golem stretched both of its arms and ran forward to clothesline them. The two blondes dropped to their knees and slid under the creature's arms, matrix style. Once the creature passed them, they instantly got back on their feet and continued to dash forward.

The next golem decided to take down one of the two blondes hastily running toward it. The golem threw a punch to the Naruto on his left, knowing that it was the real one. Naruto saw it coming and placed a hand on the creature's fist. Using his forward momentum, Naruto somersaulted over the golem. When his feet touched the ground again, Naruto continued to run forward as if nothing happened.

The last golem was too slow to react. Naruto and his clone had already passed it. When Naruto noticed this, he had confirmed what he knew about Cynthia's magic. Her reanimation spells require a great deal of mental focus from the controller. Naruto first saw evidence of this when he was tailing his clone in the forest. Among the trees, Naruto saw a few undead corpses lose any sign of movement and flop uselessly to the ground for no reason. Then, Naruto noted that Cynthia's huge earth golem had perfect mobility because her focus was solely on controlling one golem. Now, her mental focus was split into three. While not as difficult as controlling a herd of zombies, it was confusing nonetheless.

Cynthia had figured out that the blonde had already noted the weakness in her magic. She frantically commanded her golems to turn back and shield her but it was too late. Naruto's clone formed a bright blue sphere in his hand while sprinting toward her. The clone disappeared and Cynthia raised her arms in front of herself as Naruto drew near.

"Rasengan!"

Naruto gritted his teeth as the orb connected to the girl's chest. She gave a shout of agony as Naruto drove his sphere deeper into her chest. The attack sent her flying through the air and she slammed into the wall of the ziggurat. She fell forward and lay in a crumpling heap. She twitched and didn't move again.

One left, Naruto thought bitterly.

Kentaro was downright shocked and enraged. Both of his comrades have fallen at the hands of a second rate wizard no less! He glared at the blonde who met his gaze with pity.

"How dare you?!" Kentaro demanded.

Naruto stared at the ground and clenched his fists. "I had to."

Kentaro seethed with rage. "Very well, I will avenge my companions and you will know true despair!"

Naruto saw Kentaro remove the cloth tied around his forehead, revealing a third human eye. The eye darted back and forth gruesomely, looking at everything hungrily as if it couldn't get enough of what it saw. With the eye revealed, Kentaro began to radiate a dark and sickly energy.

Kentaro grinned evilly. "I will teach you the meaning of death."

Suddenly, Naruto was struck by a blast of pure dark energy. He gave a shout of surprise and pain before he landed on his back a few feet from where he had been standing. He groaned as he got unsteadily back on his feet. How did Kentaro do that? Naruto didn't even see him raise his arm.

The dark mage was still in the exact same position with no indication that he even moved.

"Now that you have had a taste of agony, I think I will destroy you now."

Naruto summoned four shadow clones and together, they rushed at Kentaro. They never got close, because as soon as they ran a few steps they were blasted by that same dark energy from before. Only this time, Naruto knew how Kentaro did it. Kentaro's third eye was the source of the vile energy. Naruto noticed something else. Kentaro was already exhausted.

He tried to hide it with his bluff, but there was no mistaking it. Beads of sweat already dotted his forehead. His ragged intake of breath and slight trembling indicates the toll his body has already taken. It must be taking all of his strength just to keep himself standing. Naruto narrowed his eyes and readied himself. He slipped something from his pouch and held it tightly. He would get only one chance to get this right.

Naruto then began to dash forward once more, this time zigzagging every few steps to keep Kentaro from easily tracking his movements.

Kentaro tried but even his eyes couldn't match the blonde's speed. He moved in a blur, crisscrossing his path toward him. Kentaro did not want to shoot a blast where he might miss his target. Naruto was too fast. He could only describe it as… a yellow flash.

Naruto eventually reached his desired distance. He threw the small object in his hand on the ground and it exploded in a cover of smoke.

Kentaro cursed as he lost sight of his enemy in the midst of the smoke. He gathered magical energy in his third eye, ready to blast him the moment he emerges from the smoke. He can only muster enough of his remaining energy for one more blast. He had to make it count.

Suddenly, a dozen shuriken flew through the smoke toward him. Kentaro managed to dodge most of it except for two. The steel throwing stars embedded themselves in his right thigh and left arm. He ignored the stabbing pain and kept his attention in front of him. Then, Naruto burst from the smoke, holding a blue sphere in his hand, ready to strike him down.

Kentaro unleashed the pent up energy and blasted the blonde in front of him. To his surprise, the blonde in front of him burst into smoke as soon as his attack landed. An instant later, another rushed forward holding a similar blue sphere in his hand. The realization of what had transpired struck him with fear. He was going to die.

In a futile attempt to defend himself Kentaro raised his arm in front of him. The hand holding the dagger was outstretched ahead of him.

Naruto on the other hand did not expect the sudden movement and accidentally hit the dagger instead of Kentaro.

"Shit!" He exclaimed as the blue sphere slammed into the dagger's pommel. The red jewel attached to the dagger cracked and leaked demonic red energy. Another crack appeared and another until it shattered completely. What happened next caught both Kentaro and Naruto unprepared. The dagger exploded.

Like carbonation behind a cork, a torrent of wild untamed dark magical energy burst from the red gemstone. The explosion was so powerful that the next sensation that Naruto felt was being weightless. He could hear a faint cry of agony from the other mage but he seemed to be far away. His right arm was flaring with pain but he was so lightheaded that he couldn't even feel it much less care at the moment. He began to fall through the air, heading toward the ground like a meteor.

This is going to hurt, he thought before he eventually lost consciousness.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: The Healer

"What in the...?"

At the voice, Naruto's eyes opened to see the tunnels of a flooded, dimly-lit, boiler room-like sewer. Looking around at the place, what bothered Naruto was the fact that finding himself here _didn't_ bother him at all, and in fact felt like somewhere he'd been before.

Looking at who was speaking, blue eyes met with the site of a young man. He wore a high-collared, black and tan robe with gold trim, along with a large, flowing white toga draped around his torso. Had short black hair, dark eyes, and also wore a pendant.

Naruto blinked. "Uhhh...who are you and how did you get here...?"

The young man shrugged, "Honestly, no idea how I got here...I was sleeping and suddenly found myself here with you..."

Naruto frowned, that was troubling.

"Well...Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki." The blond said, trying to at least be friendly. The responce he got was that the young man flinched away from him.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"...Sorry...under a curse...makes it so that I...well...can't exactly socialize..."

Naruto looked alarmed, "Under a curse?! Why didn't you say so?! I'm part of Fairytail! Maybe my guild can help free you, then! Come on! We gotta get out of here for sure, now!"

"A member of...?!" The young man looked stunned, then slapped a hand to his face, "...well, there's an irony..." his tone made it seem like he almost wanted to laugh.

Naruto frowned. Ok...what was this guy talking about? "You at least got a name, stranger?"

That caused him to look at Naruto, "...Oh...right, my apologies, been a long time since I've been able to speak with others, so..." he stopped, blinking, "...Hm? From the state of your body, looks like you'll be leaving here soon enough, Fairy."

At that, Naruto looked down and was alarmed to see his body fading, what the...?!

"Naruto, was it...?" The blond looked up to see who he was talking with, "When you get back to your guild, give Mavis my regards, and I still remember that day in August fondly..." the stranger said, looking like he was forcing himself not to smile.

* * *

Naruto woke up on a soft mattress with a thin blanket covering him. Sunlight streamed through the nearby windows. He felt horrible. His whole body ached and his right arm was the worst of it because it was flaring up in pain. He realized that he lay bare-chested and bandaged, mostly around his arm and shoulder along with his forehead.

"Good, you're awake." A feminine voice spoke. He turned his head slowly as to decrease the nauseating dizziness he was starting to feel. An elderly woman with dark gray hair emerged from a spot in the room holding a tray of a steaming bowl of porridge and a glass of water. She set the tray down on a table next to the bed and helped him sit up.

"Are you able to eat on your own, or do you require assistance?" She asked.

"I think I can manage, thank you." He croaked. His throat felt dry and hoarse.

The woman placed the bowl on his lap and he ate. She sat on a chair next to the bed, watching him eat which made Naruto slightly uncomfortable. The porridge was still hot and good. He swallowed every spoonful, grateful for something to fill his stomach. When he finished, the woman took the bowl and gave him the glass of water.

"Thank you," Naruto said after taking a few sips of water. He handed her the glass and she set it back on the tray. Now that he was fully awake and not as dizzy, he noticed that the woman looked vaguely familiar. "What's your name baa-chan?"

"You may call me Haruka," She responded. After a moment she smacked him on the back of his head and added. "And I'm not that old!"

Naruto scratched his head sheepishly. "Sorry."

"How are you feeling?" She inquired.

"A bit sore and my arm hurting like hell." Naruto admitted. She nodded and once again he wondered where he might have seen her before. "Do I know you?"

Haruka gave a small chuckle. "I'm afraid not my dear boy. I have been living alone for many years now and I have never met you until last night."

Naruto frowned as he tried to recall the events of the previous hours. A new memory surfaced as he remembered most of the details.

Before Naruto faced off with the Tartaros mages, he created another clone to act as a last resort if things came to worst. The clone hung back to observe the battle, ready to jump in when the situation required it. It turned out that the original had the advantage as the fight progressed. Then that was when the dagger exploded.

The clone had been blasted backward himself despite the distance between the battle. Naruto hurried to track down his original self before he dispersed. He had been blown away to a farther part of the forest. He found himself in a crumpled heap in the ground after an hour of searching. Luckily, the clone spotted a small light source in the forest and dragged his unconscious self toward it.

Haruka spotted them as soon as they entered her garden. She didn't hesitate when she saw that he was injured and immediately helped him into the house. The clone hastily related the events to the woman as she went about preparing the things she would need to treat his injuries. As soon as the clone felt that his original self was in good hands he dispersed.

From the clone's memories and from where he was lying in bed, Naruto realized that her house is a gigantic oak tree. The interior was an imperfect circle with a kitchen on one area, a shelf of books and different kinds of dried leaves and herbs on another, and finally the area where he was sitting in bed. It was not small but not that large either.

"You must have been put through the ringer." Haruka noted as she began to feel his temperature by placing her hand on his forehead. It was then that she frowned.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"Strange," Haruka muttered. "My boy, you have been infected by a very dark and potent magical energy. It is not my first time encountering this as I have been a healer all of my life and treating magical ailments is what I do best but by this time the foreign magical energy has already entered your veins and should be circulating through your entire body. Strangely, something is suppressing it."

Within the recesses of his mind, Naruto heard a somewhat amused chuckle.

"I kind of have really strong immune system and I heal fast." Naruto told her.

Haruka raised her eyebrows skeptically, not sure if the boy was telling the truth or simply boasting. "Well, your quick healing abilities aside, it won't be enough to expel the poison completely. It will eventually spread and cause a complete organ failure if it is not treated immediately."

Naruto gulped. "Is there something you can do about it?"

Haruka smiled. "Like I said before, I'm an expert when it comes to healing magical ailments."

Naruto let out a relieved sigh.

"But be warned, the process will be extremely painful."

It was his turn to grin. "I've experienced worse, baa-chan. Oh, and the name's Naruto by the way."

He extended his good arm and she shook it. She stood from the chair and collected the tray before she got a tick mark on her forehead. She slapped the blonde across the cheek.

"I told you to stop calling me that! I'm not that old!"

Naruto rubbed his throbbing cheek. "Ouch."

* * *

Meanwhile back in Lupinus, Alexa was doing the early morning laundry. She hung her family's clothes on the clothesline by their backyard to dry. She couldn't help but smile a little when she saw her younger brother Lance chase their dog Toby around the house. A sudden wave of sadness washed over her as she heard Lance shouting for Toby to sit still so he could give him a proper bath.

If only their mother was still here, she thought.

It has been seven months since she died and Alexa still couldn't accept the fact that she was gone. She replayed that horrible night when they took her mother away from her.

" _Mom please, don't go, someone else could volunteer!" She said as she gripped her mother desperately. Lance was crying and he too clung to their mother, willing her to stay. Their mother pulled both of them into a deep hug. Tears streamed down Alexa's face as she wrapped her arms around her mother tightly, not wanting to let go._

" _She's_ _right honey, I should go instead." Saburo said trying to convince his wife. "You stay here and watch over the kids."_

 _Her mother pulled away from her children's embrace and wrapped her arms around her husband. After a moment she pulled away and held each other at arms length._

" _You can't go. You're the town's leader and it's your job to protect these people." She put on a brave smile. "Take care of our children. Goodbye my darling."_

 _She broke apart from her husbands grasp and turned to face Alexa._

 _The girl fell into her mother's open arms and sobbed. Why did she have to go? Couldn't someone else take her place?_

 _Her mother lifted her chin to face her. Using her fingers, her mother wiped away Alexa's tears. "I need you to be strong now. I wish I could spend more time with you and watch you mature into the fine young woman I know you'll become. Watch over your brother for me."_

 _Alexa could do nothing except nod. Her mother pulled both Lance and her into another embrace._

" _I love you both, always and forever."_

And now, seven months later, there were still so many things Alexa was not able to say. She began to feel resentful and spiteful to those no good mages. Where were they when they needed them most? After seven months and then they finally show up. She knew it was already too late. Her mother was gone. What could Naruto possibly do to change things as they were now?

Yet despite all this, a small inkling of doubt resided in her mind. She couldn't explain it. Last night, during the choosing, the blonde willingly volunteered and put on the same confident smile her mother wore. He hasn't returned yet so she speculated that he already met the same fate her mother had. But she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something…different about the blonde.

* * *

Naruto had his arm clamped on the table as Haruka prepared all of the essential antidotes needed to inject into him. Now that his right arm wasn't covered in bandages anymore, he could see the sickening effects of the poison. His skin took on a pale green color, while his veins protruded and colored purple.

On another table, Haruka carefully coated several needles in a herbal mixture that he knew was the antidote. She explained that they would have to pierce him in several veins to apply the antidote. She had his arm strapped to the table saying that patients have a tendency to involuntary jerk in pain.

Haruka held the first needle and pressed down on his arm with her other hand to hold him steady. Naruto nodded and she plunged the needle into his fore arm.

It was a good thing that his arm was strapped on the table because it flared in agony. Naruto grit his teeth and gave a grunt of pain as another needle pierced him. This was insane. A needle shouldn't be able to cause this much pain but then again it was probably the effects of the poison negating the antidote. He willed himself to stay put as Haruka proceeded to apply thirty more needles.

Finally, after thirty minutes of torture, the treatment was finished. He had to admit, the antidote was working quite nicely. The pain in his arm has already subsided and a little bit of color was returning. He let out a contented sigh as the antidote had the desired effect.

"There, now that that's over with we just have to wait for the antidote to do its job." Haruka said as she started to go about and clean up the utensils she used.

"Bet you loved that," Naruto mumbled.

Hearing this, Haruka smirked. "That's what you get for calling me baa-chan all the time. I'm barely fifty two!"

"Well how was I supposed to know that?" Naruto said defensively.

He was currently sitting in a chair with his arm still strapped on the table. He was told to stay put for a while for the medicine to work. The needles were still inserted into his arm, making it look like a pin cushion.

While Haruka began to set aside her remaining ingredients, he thought about something she told him earlier.

"Hey um, Haruka-san can I ask you something?" Naruto said hesitantly.

"Go ahead."

Naruto took in a deep breath. "You deal with magical ailments…"

Haruka nodded, not seeing where this was headed.

"Is it possible that you have a cure for…memory loss?" Naruto asked.

Haruka frowned in thought. Truth be told, she did have a potion that could cure amnesia and lost memories but something held her back. It wasn't the first time that she'd been duped. She had been taken advantage of many times before because of her skill in healing. People with fake smiles and false words made her abandon her old town. She never openly trusted anyone since she left. Instead, she chose to live in the seclusion of the forest.

Now looking at the young man in front of her gave her second thoughts. He had an honest face and from what she could tell a good character. What really caught her attention were his eyes. They not only showed confusion and sadness, but also pain.

She hated herself for it but she said. "I'm sorry Naruto, but I cannot help you with that."

Naruto hung his head and clenched his fist. He knew it was too good to be true. Of course things were not that simple, nothing ever is. Despite all this, Naruto looked up and smiled.

"Well, I guess I just have to keep looking, don't I?" He said. "I mean, if I give up now, then I'll never succeed."

Haruka saw a newfound determination in the boy's eyes that surprised her. Instead of wallowing in doubts, he chooses to smile and move forward. She had never met anyone with this kind of resolve.

Maybe, just maybe, she thought.

* * *

Later that evening, Alexa's father held an emergency town meeting in the square. Saburo has been growing anxious since the previous evening. Naruto had yet to return and they still don't know if he succeeded in his endeavor to defeat the three wizards. The townspeople grew restless as they gathered in the center of town, the lingering fear of undead corpses showing up still present in their minds.

Saburo stood on a raised wooden platform in front of the small crowd. Alexa could hear him trying to get the attention of the people as he thought of something to say. Lance stood next to her, holding Toby who was also looking nervous.

"Please, everyone just calm down!" Saburo spoke to the assembly. The murmuring voices subsided somewhat and they all turned toward Saburo. "I know that we are all on edge lately and for good reasons. I only ask of you to hold on just a little longer while we wait for Naruto-san to-."

"He's probably dead!" A voice interrupted Saburo. "He hasn't returned since yesterday so that means that the wizards overpowered him!"

The crowd began to murmur in agreement and Saburo tried to reign them in. "We don't know that yet."

"Then where is he?" Another speaker challenged. "If he wasn't defeated then why hasn't he returned to report his victory?"

Saburo gritted his teeth as he tried to think of a plausible comeback. He couldn't. They have presented possible scenarios that were not unlikely to happen. If Naruto had been defeated then they were already condemned to death.

No. He refused to believe that.

"Please," He pleaded. "We just have to have faith in Naruto-san!"

Suddenly a loud and cold laughter boomed like thunder across the gathered members of Lupinus. They suddenly tensed as they felt an evil presence loom over them. Saburo paled and made his way over to his children who were clinging to each other. Toby whimpered in Lance's arms.

A demonic figure landed on the platform where Saburo stood only moments ago. People backed away as they sighted the monstrous form of the unknown creature.

The creature was humanoid and was covered in dark reddish hide. The demon stood roughly eight feet tall and had a pair of huge leathery bat wings on its back. Ram's horns sprouted on its forehead and in between them was a human eye. The creature's long white hair reached its shoulders. The demon bared it's fangs towards the gathered townspeople which made them cower.

"Pathetic humans," Kentaro spoke in a deep and cold voice. "Your faith will do you no good as it is none existent."

"What do you mean?" A random person from the crowd asked.

Kentaro gave an ugly grin. "Your mage is as good as dead and in a few moments so will you."

Everyone felt a cold shiver run down their spines as the meaning sunk in. Naruto has failed.

"Wait, I know you." Saburo pointed at the demon. "You're one of the three mages that attacked us."

"I was, but not anymore." Kentaro responded. "Your troublesome wizard did not go down easily. He destroyed my two comrades and destroyed a most sacred artifact. However, I would have never been freed from the cursed seal from where I was locked away if it weren't for him."

Kentaro released a wave of dark magic and it washed over the crowd in a gust of wind. "Now, I am free. My power is no longer contained and I shall bathe in the blood of thousands, starting with you."

Kentaro roared and the people began to panic as they scrambled to get away from the demon. Kentaro spotted one person trying to get away and he thrust out one of his hands releasing a bolt of dark energy. Luckily the attack missed and landed on the ground ahead of him. Even so he was forced to run back or risk getting blasted again.

"No one leaves," Kentaro stated and left the people to huddle in fear.

Alexa was so frightened that he didn't notice Lance slip away from her grasp and head towards the demon.

Kentaro noticed the small boy standing in front of him, looking defiant while holding a small dog. He gave an amused chuckle as the boy glared at him while trembling with fear. Pathetic.

Oh well, Kentaro thought. I guess you shall be who I devour first.

* * *

Naruto's eyes flashed awake and he sat bolt upright. He felt it. A strong dark magical energy was fluctuating wildly somewhere in the distance. He knew that energy. He fought against it only last night.

"Haruka-san, I have to go," He said urgently as he got up from the bed.

The woman herself was startled as he struggled to put on his black and orange jacket.

"And where do you think you're headed at this time of the night? Your body has not fully healed yet since it hasn't completely expelled the poison from your system. If you move too much, you might go into a relapse, now go lie down!"

Haruka tried to get him back on the bed but he refused to do so. "I have to go!"

"Where are you even headed and why?" Haruka asked exasperatedly.

Naruto took a deep breath as he explained. "Back to Lupinus, because they're in trouble."

"And how may I ask, do you know this?"

Naruto hesitated. "I can't explain it. Call it instinct I guess, but that's not important. All I know is that they need me."

Haruka sighed. "Still you will not be able to do much for them as you are in no condition to fight."

"I'll find a way." He said, completely ignoring her warning. "Besides…"

Naruto tore away his newly applied bandages. Haruka was utterly shocked by what she saw. His infected arm was completely normal. Normally the antidote took days to expel the poison. Now here was this boy, who was only given treatment a few hours ago, was perfectly healthy.

"I heal fast."

* * *

Lance struggled to keep his knees from shaking too much as he faced the demon. He didn't know what propelled him into such an act of courage, but he knew that someone had to stand up to the creature. As for the demon he just stood watching the boy, amused by his profound and pointless determination.

Nevertheless, he spoke the next few words in outmost certainty. Lance was tired of having to live in fear every night. He was tired of people being taken away and never coming back, just like his mother. He remembered the words of the blonde mage spoken to him only yesterday. He was definitely scared but…

"What's the matter boy?" Kentaro asked. "So frightened that you can't stop shaking?"

Lance gritted his teeth. "I am afraid, but not of you!"

The crowd gasped and the demon looked slightly annoyed by that statement.

"Well then," Kentaro raised his hand that cackled with dark energy and pointed it towards Lance. "I'll have to make you fear me."

That was the last straw. Alexa rushed forward and placed herself in front of her brother. She was not going to lose another family member. She promised her mother that she would look out for Lance and she was going to keep that vow. She stood firmly in place with her arms outstretched as she waited for the blast.

"Lance! Alexa!" Her father shouted.

She closed her eyes, waiting for the end.

Suddenly, she felt herself being picked up and carried away as she heard an explosion only a moment later. She opened her eyes only to find her self in the arms of a handsome young man with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Naruto gave her a confident smile as he set her down gently on the ground. Alexa turned to find another Naruto do the same and placed Lance and Toby next to her.

She immediately rushed over and wrapped her arms around her brother. Only moments ago, she was prepared to die to save her brother and now here they were, safe and unharmed. Saburo reached them and embraced both of his children.

"Oh thank goodness!" Saburo said. He looked to the man who had just saved his two kids. "Thank you, Naruto."

The blonde man just nodded and focused his attention to the snarling demon on the platform.

"So, you survived." Kentaro said in disgust. "I should have known you were still alive, how bothersome."

"People say I'm pretty stubborn sometimes." Naruto said. He settled into a fighting stance. "But I'll take that as a compliment."

"Let's end this then, shall we?" Kentaro spread his massive wings and shot into the air. Naruto never took his eyes off the now transformed mage as he circled around the air.

"Saburo, get everyone to safety," Naruto told the man. "I can't fight if I'm constantly checking if everyone is okay."

Saburo nodded. "Let's go kids."

"Wait!" Alexa said as she turned to look back at the blonde. "Will you be alright?"

Naruto gave her a confident smile. "Don't worry about me. I can handle myself."

With that being said, Naruto turned his attention back to the demon circling overhead. Alexa followed her father as he lead the people away from the square. All the while she never took her eyes off of the man who saved her. She never lost sight of him until they rounded a corner and the structure of a house obscured her view.

* * *

Naruto waited until the townspeople were distanced far from the area and once he was satisfied that they were far from the soon to be battlefield, he created two shadow clones. He knew that this was going to be much more difficult than his previous battle with the transformed mage. The dark magical energies from the dagger must have turned him into this demon.

Not to mention that Haruka-san was right. He wasn't fully healed yet. He could still feel traces of the same evil energy flowing through his bloodstream. It was too late to change his mind now.

Naruto formed a glowing blue sphere in his hand and the two clones gripped his arms. Taking a few steps back, they took off with a running start and the clones tossed Naruto into the air. Naruto sailed toward Kentaro, ready to ram his palm into the demon's face.

Kentaro on the other hand was simply waiting for the blonde to make his move. When he saw him shooting into the air to intercept him, Kentaro made no move to dodge the attack. Instead, he decided to face the blonde head on.

Naruto could see Kentaro flying toward him. When he was within striking distance, Naruto thrust his glowing blue sphere toward the demon. He would have taken a direct hit, but Kentaro was unimaginably fast.

Kentaro grabbed his wrist and drove his fist into Naruto's gut. Not only was he faster, he was stronger too. The punch made Naruto cough up spits of blood. With his concentration broken, the Rasengan vanished. Kentaro held tightly him by his throat. He struggled in the demon's grip but to no avail. It was becoming difficult to breath.

"What a waste of effort." Kentaro taunted. "Thanks to you, I have gained more power than I could have ever imagined. Sadly, now you are going to pay for what you did to my guild members!"

Kentaro flew upwards and rapidly gained altitude. Then, when he reached the desirable height he began to plunge toward the ground. He held Naruto by the throat and positioned him below him so that he would impact the ground first. Naruto couldn't do a thing. It dawned on him what was going to happen: A very hard fall.

He tried to think of a way out of this when he had a sudden idea. He retreated into his psyche and stood in front of the powerful gigantic fox. The bijuu looked curiously at the blonde.

 **"In trouble, again, Naruto?"** the Kyuubi demanded.

"Lend me some power," Naruto said. "I need to defeat this man."

The Kyuubi pondered on this for a moment. **"Very well; but as strange as it is telling YOU this, curse your memory loss: my chakra's pretty...volatile..."**

"So be it."

Kentaro slammed the blonde into the pavement and the impact was so powerful that it created a small crater. Kentaro released his hold on Naruto and left him in a crumpled heap. Kentaro could see the broken form of his enemy and he smiled. He had his revenge. Now he would kill the rest of the pathetic citizens of this town.

He turned to leave, but something stopped him. Kentaro felt a spike of demonic energy besides his own, another presence that was full of rage and anger. He looked back to see that Naruto was slowly rising from the ruble. The blonde looked possessed.

Naruto got back on his feet and a coat of bubbling orange chakra started to form around his whole body. The strange coating took the form of a fox with three tails gently swaying from side to side. The blonde's physical features also morphed into a demon fox as his teeth became fangs and his nails turned into claws. Naruto opened his eyes to reveal blood red irises with feral slits.

Kentaro could not do anything but watch in fear as he felt waves of rage and power wash over the entire area.

"What are you?!" Kentaro demanded.

Instead of answering, Naruto let loose a loud roar that sent powerful gusts of wind in every direction.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Unleashed

Kentaro stood gaping at the demonic creature before him, able to feel the immense power and hatred emanating from it in waves. Despite being a newly transformed demon himself, he felt a small amount of fear. It was ridiculous. He was far more powerful than he was before, and yet the demon fox in front of him made his powers look insignificant.

Naruto crouched on all fours and growled at Kentaro. His three tails were swaying slightly from side to side. The fox's hate filled eyes trained on him.

Suddenly, before he could even blink, Naruto appeared in front of him and delivered a powerful punch in his face. The next thing he knew was that he was smashing through buildings and then trees before skidding to a halt. The mage looked up to see that the town of Lupinus was now a faint outline in the distance. The blonde was that powerful?

Then, he saw the demon fox bounding toward him at unbelievable speeds. Kentaro was ready for him this time. He encased his fist in dark magic. Once Naruto was within striking distance, Kentaro launched himself at the blonde demon and slammed his magic enveloped fist into his gut. He followed it up by opening his mouth wide and shouting. "Demonic Roar!"

A huge wave of dark magic shot from his mouth and blasted Naruto backward. Naruto slammed into a few trees before getting back up again on all fours and growled at Kentaro. He seemed unhurt and unaffected by the two attacks. He only looked angrier.

"Interesting, who would have thought that you held such evil inside of you?" Kentaro said. "How does it feel to have all of that power inside of you? I can feel your rage and hatred. Why fight it? Why not show your true self? After all this is who you really are."

Naruto didn't respond. He kept his feral eyes trained on the other demon n case he made a move. His claws were digging into the ground and his whole body was tense.

"You know, I should be thanking you." Kentaro continued. He needed to stall for a bit to gather his energy. "If you hadn't broken the dagger, I would have never attained this power. We always thought that the Devourer of Souls was sealed away in the ziggurat itself. We never imagined that the demon was sealed inside the dagger all along. Now thanks to you, I have been granted with the demon's powers and you shall be the first to taste it!"

As quick as a cobra, Kentaro thrust out both of his hands and a gigantic beam of dark magic shot toward Naruto. "Death Cannon!"

Naruto was hit with the full extent of the attack. He was blasted backwards and landed a few meters away. Even with the Kyuubi's chakra cloaking him, a small portion the attack managed to pierce through it and hit his left shoulder. Pain shot through his entire left arm and now it hung limp at his side. Naruto got back on his feet and bared his fangs at Kentaro.

"You still want more? Very well," Kentaro shot up into the air and hovered a few meters above the ground. He raised his right arm above his head and gathered an immense amount of magic. Kentaro thrust out his hand in front of him and a dark magic circle appeared. "Hell bringer!"

A dozen beams of dark energy shot toward Naruto. The blonde jinchuuriki saw them coming and dashed toward his right to avoid them. Unfortunately, the beams seemed to be following him.

Kentaro let out an evil chuckle. "I'm afraid that's not going to work."

Naruto managed to evade one of the beams from hitting him. Instead it struck the ground and created a huge crater. Naruto ran on all fours and zigzagged, hoping to confuse the homing attack. He managed to avoid another two but one of them hit him square in the back, making him falter.

Then the remaining shots managed to close in on him and find their mark. There was a huge explosion that followed and Kentaro landed on the ground. A large cloud of dust obscured his view. When it cleared, a massive crater had formed and in the middle was the crumpled fox. Naruto lay broken and battered in the center of the hole.

Kentaro smirked and decided to take a close look. That was a big mistake.

When he got closer, Kentaro stopped as he heard a crunching and cracking sound. He then realized that it was coming from Naruto. Thanks to the fox's chakra, his injuries were healing at an alarming rate. His broken bones mended, his cuts closed, and his bruises faded. Naruto slowly got back on all fours and he glared at Kentaro.

The demonic mage couldn't believe his eyes.

"How are you still alive? What is this power?"

Naruto roared and a huge blast of wind erupted from him. The gusts were so powerful that it made Kentaro stagger backward. Suddenly, Naruto stretched out his hand and a long orange claw grabbed Kentaro. The massive hand wrapped around Kentaro's torso and wings. The blonde jinchuuriki raised his hand high in the air and then brought it back down.

The hand holding Kentaro followed his movements and the demon mage was hoisted high into the air before slamming back down head first into the ground. The impact stunned him for a moment before he was tossed into the air again and brought back forcefully into the ground.

Then, before he could get back on his feet or even sit up, Naruto leaped on top of Kentaro's chest, pinning him to the ground. Naruto cocked his hand back and unleashed a barrage of powerful swipes at Kentaro. With each blow, they both sunk deeper and deeper into the ground. After, ten minutes of nonstop pounding, Naruto backed away.

Kentaro was now unrecognizable. His face and body was broken and deformed. His wings were snapped like a twig and now bent in odd angles. He now lay unmoving.

"This isn't over…" Kentaro managed to choke out. "My guild… is…far more powerful…than you…can imagine…"

Kentaro then somehow managed to move and was trying to get up. Naruto wasn't going to let him though. He formed a glowing blue sphere in his right hand and it was fueled by the kyuubi's chakra. Vermilion Rasengan.

Naruto slammed the orb into Kentaro's chest and the demon mage gave a grunt of pain before he felt nothing else and lay still.

The blonde jinchuuriki stepped back from the corpse. He reared his head back and gave a loud roar of triumph.

* * *

Meanwhile, the townspeople of Lupinus gathered at the edge of the forest as they waited for the battle to end. They heard massive explosions and shouts coming from the town before they were met with silence. It has been quiet for over an hour and they were getting anxious.

Alexa stood next to her father while holding onto her brother. "Is it over?"

Saburo frowned for a moment. "Honestly, I cannot say."

"Don't worry. Naruto-san will win. We just have to have faith." Lance said. Toby barked in agreement.

Alexa was silent for a moment. "I hope you're right."

Then suddenly, a twig snapped in somewhere behind them. The citizens tensed and some of the capable men held their makeshift weapons at the ready. Saburo stepped in front of his children and Alexa clung to her little brother tightly. It could be the demon from the town square ready to destroy them.

After a few moments, a man stumbled out of the tree line looking confused and disoriented. The crowd let out a gasp of surprise. They knew him. He was once a merchant that sold fresh fruits in the market square.

"Papa!" A young girl squealed and ran toward the man. The little girl was followed by her mother who looked like she was seeing a ghost.

The man looked startled and disoriented as his daughter tackled him with a hug and cried. His wife also wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. He blinked the confusion out of his eyes and returned the hug. He pullee his family even closer to himself as his wife and daughter sobbed in relief.

Then, more people began emerging from the woods, looking just as confused. They were all greeted in open arms as each of there loved ones ran over to the person they thought was dead. Among the crowd of people, Alexa spotted the one person who she thought was gone forever. Her mother, Cassandra stumbled out of the woods with a disoriented look on her face as she tried to make sense of her surroundings.

Alexa ran toward her mother with her father and brother following closely behind her. Alexa wrapped her arms tightly around her mother's neck and sobbed. She couldn't believe it, her mother was back in her arms and she never wanted to let go of her again. Not only her, but it looked like everyone that had been used as sacrifices were also returned from the dead. For the moment, she didn't care as long as they were together again.

Saburo also wrapped his arms around his wife and daughter, while Lance clung to her mother's waist. The small family basked in each others presence and warmth. None of them could stop the tears from flowing.

"We've missed you so much." Alexa said softly. At this point, Cassandra lost her momentary confusion and smiled as she returned her family's tight embrace.

"Shhh, it's okay now." Her mother said soothing words to all of them. It was a long time before all of them separated from their family hug.

"Darling, I'm so glad that you're back but I have to ask… how?" Saburo wasn't complaining. He had never been more overjoyed in his entire life to have his wife back and have his family whole again. Still, curiuosity got the better of him and he had to know how this came to be.

His wife cast him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry darling but I honestly don't know. I am still wondering about that myself."

In fact, all of the now brought to life citizens didn't know either. They all just found themselves stumbling through the woods.

"Perhaps, I can shed some light on that." A new voice spoke up.

Saburo turned to the speaker and his eyes widened as he recognized the woman walking towards them from the woods.

"Haruka, is that you?"

The old woman smiled. "It's been a long time brother. Now, allow me to explain…"

* * *

Naruto has a new problem. The magical poison that he got from his previous encounter with the Tartatos mages was still running through his system. It was causing the kyuubi's chakra to become more potent. He couldn't seem to reign himself under control as he began smashing trees for no reason. Now that he didn't have an enemy to focus all of his rage, he wanted to destroy everything he saw.

At some point after the battle, Kentaro's corpse began to release a huge amount of strange energy. Ghostly humanoid figures erupted from the dead body of the demon and disappeared. Whatever it was seems to have been the source of his new power and demonic form. Now that it was gone, the mage was reverted back to his human form. It was all he noticed while he was starting to lose control.

Naruto swiped at another tree and broke it in half. His bloodlust felt unquenchable as he destroyed several more trees. If he couldn't stop the flow of the Kyuubi's chakra, he could destroy everything within a three mile radius.

He willed his chakra to stop flowing but the poison was interfering and he can't cease the flow of his chakra. Naruto started to panic a little bit as he was heading toward the direction of Lupinus. The last thing he wanted was to hurt and endanger innocent people. His desperation was growing by the minute as he frantically tried to stop himself.

Nothing was happening. Determination alone wasn't enough. Now what? He couldn't contact the Kyuubi to see if he could help him stop the flow of chakra. Naruto was slowly moving forward as he struck down anything in his path, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. He needed help. Anyone…

 _I believe in you, Naruto._

An image of a tall blonde man wearing a long white coat and flak jacket appeared in his mind. His light blue eyes stared at him and Naruto felt like he was looking in a mirror. If it weren't for his whisker marks, the man in front of him would look exactly like him. The man gave him an encouraging smile.

 _It is the duty of a parent to have undying faith in their child. That's why I know you will find the answer someday._

It was his father. More importantly, he believed in him.

Naruto gave a long drawn out shout as he began to exert a ton of effort to close his energy pathways. At first nothing happened, but after a few minutes, he felt one of his passageways close and then another. It was taking a huge toll on him, but he managed to close the last pathway and ceased the flow of chakra in his system.

The Kyuubi's chakra cloak disappeared along with the most of his strength and energy. He collapsed on the ground and panted heavily. He was completely exhausted. Naruto was lying face first on the forest floor and breathing heavily. He felt like he ran a marathon with ten ton leg weights.

After a few minutes, he groaned as he pushed himself off the ground and got himself braced on one knee. His muscles screamed in protest as he did so. Frankly, he was ready to hit the sack right now but he had to get back to Lupinus and make sure that the people were okay.

It took a huge effort to stand and an even greater challenge to just walk. It was slow going, because he had to stop and lean on a tree for support and rest. He returned the flow of his chakra and felt a little better. The poison was starting to lose effect and Naruto could feel it being expelled from his body.

He thought about the man he just saw earlier. He had no doubt in his mind that the man he saw was his father.

Naruto smiled as he turned his gaze skyward. "Thanks, dad,"

After a while, he began to see the outline of the town. He had been walking for half an hour now and he was glad that he finally made it back. He stumbled out of the forest and a huge surprise awaited him.

"There he is!" A voice shouted among the masses as a huge gathering of people began making their way toward him.

His eyes widened as the number ranged into hundreds. The last he checked, there were only a few citizens of Lupinus left. Where did all of these people come from?

He was tackled in a hug and he realized that it was Alexa who had wrapped her arms around him. Soon he was surrounded by the mob and Lance came up to him and hugged his waist. Toby was barking happily while running around in circles.

"Thank you so much." Alexa said.

Saburo stepped forward along with a woman that looked familiar. They held each other's hand and it dawned on him. The woman was his wife and Alexa's mother.

The girl pulled away from the hug and turned to look at every single one of the faces of the people gathered around him.

"No way, you're all…" Naruto trailed off. He couldn't believe that all of the people that had been sacrificed were alive and breathing.

Saburo smiled at him. "Naruto, we can't even begin to express our gratitude toward you as of this moment. You have no idea. Thanks to you, all of our loved ones have returned to us. We will always be forever grateful to you."

Then, Saburo and his wife bowed deeply to the young man and after a few moments everyone else followed suit. The entire population bowed before him and to be honest, it was making him uncomfortable.

"Please don't do that, it was my job to help you anyway." Naruto said while scratching his head embarrassedly. He was never one for praise much. He was just fine with being acknowledged.

"Anyway, how are you all back?" Naruto asked.

"Well, Haruka explained it to us." Saburo said.

"Wait, you know Haruka-san?"

"Yes, she's my sister." Saburo answered.

Naruto was slightly surprised by that piece of information. But when he thought about it, it made sense. No wonder she looked so familiar. Looking at the man in front of him right now and comparing it to the woman who healed his injuries in the forest, there was no doubt about their status as siblings.

"As I was saying," Saburo continued. "My sister has always been an excellent healer and has travelled all around Fiore studying all she can about magic and medical practices. She was said to rival the talents of Porlyusica from Fairytail. In her travels, she encountered reference to a demon known as The Devourer. This demon was said to claim souls and use it to fuel itself from their energies. The Devourer was a creation of Zeref and I have no doubt in my mind that we encountered this very demon tonight."

Naruto really did not like this Zeref person. He was glad that he died a long time ago. If his creations were demons like Lullaby and Devourer, he didn't want to know what other monstrosities he could whip up.

"The demon's powers come from the very souls he claims so the more he takes the stronger he becomes. However, the souls he claims are very much alive but they are trapped within the demon as long as it breathes. Haruka can only theorize that after defeating it, you released the ones trapped within the demon."

Naruto sighed in relief. "Does that mean everyone who died is back now?"

Saburo nodded. "And it is all thanks to you."

The blonde once again rubbed the back of his head. Saburo then clapped him on the back and chuckled heartily. "Well, in light of the circumstances, I think this call's for a celebration. Come on, everyone, what do you say?"

The whole town cheered and began to head back into town with Naruto on top of their shoulders.

* * *

The party lasted the whole night and it didn't stop until the next morning. Everyone was in great spirits as they celebrated their freedom and glad that this horrible nightmare was over. Everyone got to spend their evening reunited with the people they lost. They all gathered around the tosn square disregarding some of the damages for now and parted like there was no tomorrow.

There was laughter, music, dancing, and good food. The citizens of Lupinus have never been happier as they could finally let go of the fear plaguing them every day.

Naruto was the star of the evening as everybody wanted to talk to him. He was dragged to so many tables that he lost track of his dinner. They all wanted to thank him and talk with him for a bit to get to know their hero better. He would spend only five minutes on one table before being whisked away to another. At one point, Alexa dragged him onto the dance floor for a dance that required a partner. He apologized repeatedly as he kept stepping on her feet and tripping over himself as he struggled to get in tune with the footwork and music.

That afternoon, the party started to defuse and it was time for Naruto to leave. Everybody came to see him off and they stood in front of the town.

"Here, take this." Saburo handed him a check. "You've earned it."

Naruto's eyes bulged as he saw the number of zeroes on the check. The reward had been raised to a pay of ten million jewels.

"Holy crap, that's a lot!" Naruto exclaimed and Saburo chuckled.

"I did tell you that the job was raised to S-class didn't I?"

Naruto slapped his forehead. "That's right, I guess I forgot. Are you sure about this? I mean, I can settle for the previous reward."

Saburo shook his head. "Take it. It's the least we could offer you as you've done so much for us. Whatever happens, you are always welcome here."

Naruto nodded. Alexa came forward.

"I'm sorry for how I acted when we met." She apologized. "I was wrong about you. And I want to give you something for saving my mother and everyone else."

Alexa then brought her lips close to his face and planted a kiss on his cheek. It was a small gesture but it still left him blushing up a storm. She giggled when she pulled back and saw his face had a blush.

"Don't be a stranger okay?" She said. Naruto nodded with a grin.

Lance came forward with Toby in his hands. He smiled up at his hero figure. "When I grow up, I'm going to just like you so I can protect my family too, right Toby?"

The dog barked in affirmation. Naruto smiled and ruffled the boy's hair. "That's a good path to follow. Just don't give up no matter how hard life becomes and you'll be stronger than me someday."

"Really, you mean it?" Lance asked. Naruto nodded.

The blonde slung his rucksack over his shoulder and waved goodbye as he began to walk down the road. They all shouted their farewells and told him to come back soon. Naruto promised that he would someday and he never broke his promises.

* * *

Naruto saw her after walking down the road for thirty minutes. She stood there like she was expecting him and he walked over to her.

"I was wrong about you, Naruto." Haruka said. "You're different from other people. When a house catches on fire, most people would run to safety while people like you run back inside to see if anyone else was trapped."

"I wouldn't even think twice about it." Naruto told her. "It's just who I am."

Haruka smiled at him and took out a small vile of clear liquid from her pouch. She handed it to him. "Here."

Naruto stared at the small vile on his hand and couldn't help but wonder. "Haruka-san, is this, what I think it is?"

The elderly woman nodded. "This is a potion that will help you regain your lost memories. It is a very rare brew and it is difficult to make. This is the only one I have and I've decided to entrust it to you."

Naruto clutched the small potion like it was a lifeline. He couldn't believe it! All of his memories were in the palm of his hand. All he had to do now was drink it and…

"However, there is a catch." Haruka warned. "The potion is set on a timer. It is not ready to be consumed at the moment. The effect of the potion will activate at any given moment and you must drink it immediately."

The blonde frowned. "How will I know when I can drink it?"

"Trust me, you'll know." Haruka assured him. "Even I cannot say when it will be ready to be consumed. That is why you must keep it on your person at all times and when it is ready, you only have two minutes to consume it before it becomes useless."

Naruto nodded and carefully placed the vile in his pouch. "Thank you Haruka-san."

"I'm giving you a chance to do some good in this world." Haruka said. "We need people like you. I just wish I can do more."

Then, Naruto surprised her by giving the elderly woman a hug. He pulled away a moment later. "You have no idea how much you've done for me. Thank you."

"Good luck, Naruto and safe travels." Haruka called out as he began to walk down the road again.

Naruto waved back. "See you around, Baa-chan."

Haruka grew several tick marks when she heard that. She picked up a small rock and threw it at the blonde. "I'm not that old!"

The stone smacked Naruto at the back of his head with so much force that he stumbled for a bit before landing face first on the ground. "Ouch."


	17. Chapter 17

**AUTHOR NOTE: THANKS EVERYONE! That plagiarist on wattpad, HunterWater0...**

 **THEIR PROFILE IS GONE!**

* * *

Chapter 17: Phantom's Strike

Naruto was experiencing a very bizarre dream.

 _He sat cross-legged in a meditative position on the edge of a large fountain. Beside him sat a few of his clones who were also meditating. Huge toad statues surrounded him._

 _Suddenly, he felt his face swell up and a small old toad jumped up and whacked him on the head with a black rod. The swelling vanished and he felt him face return to normal before he could undergo a stone toad transformation. But the throbbing in his head where the toad had hit him hurt._

" _Ouch! Man this is hard!" Naruto complained. He had been sitting still for hours now and being the hyperactive person that he was, it was torture._

" _Focus, Naruto!" The old toad berated him. The small creature jumped up and whacked his clone whose face had bulged into a slightly transformed toad. As soon as the toad hit him, the clone dispersed. "You must learn to control the amount of Nature energy you absorb or else if you take in too much, you'll turn into a petrified frog statue. Now try again."_

 _Sighing, Naruto took his meditative pose once again and tried to remain still. Not long after, the small toad once again jumped up and whacked him on the head as his face partially transformed into a toad._

The following morning, Naruto got off the train as he finally arrived back at Magnolia. He was glad to be back and he couldn't wait to see his new friends again, especially a certain red haired re-quip mage. He felt extremely optimistic. He placed a hand on his right pouch where he placed the potion Haruka gave him. Naruto didn't know when the potion would be ready to be drunk but he didn't care. All he had to do was to wait.

He left the train station and began to make his way back toward the guild hall at a leisurely pace. He was still thinking about his recent dream and what it meant.

Nature Energy...that term was very familiar. In his dream, the small toad was teaching him how to harness it. What he couldn't figure out however, was what he was able to do once he did. He would have to investigate later.

As he was walking, Naruto felt something very wrong. People were pointing and murmuring when he passed by. He only caught snippets of what they were saying.

"Oh no, isn't he one of them?"

"Does he know?"

"I feel bad for the rest of them."

"I hope they're alright."

He didn't know why, but dread started to crawl up his spine as he quickened his pace.

* * *

Erza sighed as she and Gray held back an angry Natsu from charging into Phantom's guild hall. She was furious as well but the master ordered them to restrain themselves from taking any action against Phantom Lord. She had no choice but to follow master Makarov's orders but that didn't mean she had to like it.

The members of Fairytail were all gathered in the basement with a sullen and depressed look on all of their faces. Erza and the others just got back from Galuna island after completing the S-class job when they found the guild hall nearly destroyed with gigantic metal poles smashed through the walls and ceiling. Fortunately, no one was around at the time and all of the members were unharmed.

Erza was starting to get annoyed. "Natsu, calm down! The master specifically told us to stay put and there's nothing we can do about it."

Natsu wouldn't listen and continued to struggle. "Let me go! I'll burn all of Phantom to a crisp! I'll make they pay for what they did to our guild hall!"

"Can it, you fire-breathing idiot! We're all angry and want payback but we can't go against the master." Gray said.

"Natsu, please," It was Lucy who spoke. "Just calm down,"

Eventually, the pink-haired dragonslayer stopped struggling and sat down on a wooden box grumbling. The other three just sat at the makeshift bar where Mira was preparing some food.

"I can't believe they would do such a thing." Mira said sadly. "We haven't done anything to upset them and yet they go and do something like this."

"What's done is done." Erza said although her fists were clenched. "We just have to bear with it for the time being."

The others didn't like it, but they nodded in agreement.

Then, they heard footsteps coming from the floor above them. Erza and the others tensed as they heard it coming closer. As a precaution, Erza summoned her sword and Natsu and Gray both stood, ready to attack anything hostile that came through the door. The door to the basement opened and Naruto appeared at the base of the stairs.

Everyone felt relieved as they saw him.

"What happened?" He asked no one in particular. Naruto's face frowned in worry as he scanned the faces of the people in the room.

Nobody answered. None of them could meet his eyes and the depression in the room seemed to increase. Naruto spotted Erza and walked toward her.

"Erza-chan, what happened here?" Naruto asked.

Erza cast her eyes downward. "Phantom Lord."

Naruto frowned in confusion. "What's that?"

"It's another guild that's said to rival Fairytail." Mira answered.

Naruto's eyes widened. "You mean a dark guild?"

Mira shook her head. "No, Phantom is an official guild like us. For the past few years, Fairytail and Phantom Lord have been competing for the position of top guild. But for some reason and without warning they attacked the guild hall when no one was around. Everyone was shocked by the sight of the nearly destroyed guildhall the next morning. We've decided to move anything we can salvage into the basement. Master refused to retaliate or take action against phantom lord. So for now, business will continue until we can pay to get the guild hall repaired."

Naruto nodded but he couldn't get rid of the worried look on his face. "Was anyone hurt?"

Mira shook her head. "No. Everyone's safe and sound."

Naruto sighed in relief. "Thank goodness."

Makarov came out of the bathroom and looked a lot less intoxicated than he was earlier. Trying to down his worries with booze and beer was apparently ineffective. He was still plenty worried and angry. He was furious to think that Jose would stoop to attacking them like this unprovoked. Luckily, no one was harmed and that was the only thing keeping Makarov from storming the Phantom Lord's guild hall along with his children.

The small guild master spotted the familiar face and gave a greeting. "Welcome back, Naruto. The job was a success I take it?"

Naruto turned toward Makarov and nodded. "It was…trickier to accomplish. In fact, there's some things I'd like to discuss with you, master."

Makarov was silent for a moment. "Very well, follow me."

The master of Fairytail headed for the stairs and Naruto followed. Erza was a bit curious as to what Naruto wanted to converse with the master but shrugged instead. If he wanted to tell her, then he would tell her when he was ready. She then focused on her current predicament: Trying to calm Natsu down yet again.

* * *

Meanwhile, Makarov led Naruto to the back of the partly demolished guild hall. The two stood outside, staring at the gentle waves crashing on the beach.

"What's on your mind, Naruto?" Makarov inquired. He was curious.

Naruto didn't answer immediately and continued to stare at the crashing waves.

"Master…How many Dark guilds exist?" Naruto asked in an emotionless tone.

Makarov frowned and his demeanor turned serious. "Hmm. To be honest my boy, I've lost count. The magic council sees them as nothing but a nuisance and while those fools bicker and argue, the number of dark guilds grows with each passing day. The other guild masters and I believe that there are three dark guilds that have created an alliance and are now the most powerful among them."

"Is one of them Tartaros?" Naruto asked.

Makarov raised his eyebrows and glanced at the young man beside him. "Yes, we believe that one of them is Tartaros and the remaining two are Oracion Seis and Grimoire Heart. What brought this up Naruto?"

The blonde kept his face blank. "I encountered three of their mages recently…and well...you're not going to like this, but, the village I helped in dealing with the dark guild mages had sent a letter regarding the change in the job request seven months ago. The request was changed to S-rank due to the current situation they were in..."

Makarov listened carefully as Naruto began to recount the events that have transpired on the job he took. It was troubling and it worried him greatly that Tartaros, one of the most elusive members of the Baram alliance, was already making their move. That meant that the other two guilds aren't far behind and are preparing to mobilize as well. This was not good.

"I need to convene with the council again soon." Makarov stated. "If what you say is true, then that means nothing but trouble in the near future. I have to convince the council to move against them before the dark guilds try anything again, and that this whole thing with being uninformed of the shifts in situation...that's especially worring. But right now, we have other problems to deal with. Of all the times for us to get attacked, we sure do have rotten luck."

The two shared a grim chuckle.

"Don't worry, you made the right choice by not responding in kind." Naruto assured. "War is never the answer and nothing good comes out of it."

It was then that Makarov once again caught the faraway look in the young man's eyes. They held so much pain, sadness, and worry. The boy had been through a lot, he could tell. His words come from experience and his wisdom was beyond his years. But through his intense pain, Makarov could see something else hidden within Naruto: kindness and unyielding determination.

"Yes, I couldn't have said it better myself." Makarov managed a small smile before frowning again. "Although, If one of my children was attacked, I'm not sure I will be able to restrain myself from marching on Jose's front door and make him regret harming one of the guild members."

Naruto nodded. "It can't be helped. If that happens, I call first crack at the bastard who did this to our guild hall."

Makarov smirked and grunted. "Get in line. Natsu's been itching to beat up the dragonslayer of Phantom Lord. They call him Gajeel Redfox, the Iron Dragonslayer."

They stood in companionable silence for a while before another topic came to his mind.

"Hey, gramps, have you ever heard of something called Nature Energy?" Naruto asked.

"I can't say I have my boy." Makarov said shaking his head slightly.

"Okay, never mind." Naruto felt a little disappointed. He had hoped that someone like Makarov would be able shed some light about it or maybe a clue to what it was. His recent dream didn't seem to elaborate much but it felt like it could be useful to him. And he had a feeling that he might need it soon.

"We should probably head back inside now." Makarov suggested. "There are some things we need to tell the other members about and we have to be cautious."

"Wait...Master, I still have something to tell you. Is there someone named Mavis in the guild?"

Makarov tensed. "...Why do you ask, my boy...?"

"Was asked to give her the regards of someone. Never got their name, but said they "still remember that day in August fondly", and they were under some curse that made it so it was hard to be social, whatever that means."

At that, the old master went quit for a while, "...I see..." he sighed at last, suddenly looking like something was troubling him even worse than before at that.

"Gramps...?"

"Oh...sorry, this was just reminding me to see an old friend once everything is settled, Naruto. Let's go."

With that being said, the two began to make their way back into the partly destroyed guild hall.

* * *

"I can't take it anymore!" Natsu shouted in frustration. "I can't just sit here and do nothing while those sneaky bastards think they can do this to our home and think they can get away with it! I'll burn them to a crisp!"

"Just shut up you idiot!" Gray said, irritated by his friend's behavior. "Can't you see no one wants to hear your crap right now?"

Natsu clenched his fists. "This is exactly why we need to make them pay!"

"That is enough, Natsu!" Makarov commanded as everyone turned to see him and Naruto arriving at the base of the stairs.

"But, master-," Makarov raised a silencing hand.

"We shall discuss this matter no more." Makarov said with an air of finality to it and took his place on top of the makeshift bar.

Natsu didn't like it but he kept his mouth shut and stared at the floor.

"There are times when you have to stay your sword Natsu." Naruto told him as he drew closer. The pink haired boy looked up to see him standing in front of him with a sad expression on his face. "I know that this is difficult to accept and you feel as if you can't let the matter go unsettled, but you have to."

Natsu opened his mouth to say something but Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "The Fairytail guildhall might be destroyed Natsu but _Fairytail_ is still very much alive. I know, because I'm standing in the same room as them."

Erza smiled and she could see that almost everyone had been listening to Naruto's words and they felt their spirits lift ever so slightly.

Natsu nodded in understanding and the blonde let go of his shoulder.

"Well...since I just got a really huge paycheck recently, drinks are on me today!" Naruto exclaimed loudly. The guild members cheered. "Mira, one huge bowl of ramen please!"

Mira shook her head and couldn't help but smile. "Oh dear, looks like our stocks of ramen will get emptied again."

Everyone chuckled at the pouting face Naruto was making.

Naruto sat next to Erza and the redhead stared at the blonde enigma. She was amazed by how he quickly lifted everyone's spirits in a matter of seconds. The guild was back to their loud and boisterous selves, although it was a bit subdued. Gray and Natsu were bickering again and Lucy sighed at her teammates' antics. Mira was rushing from table to table, serving people drinks and food that were all paid by Naruto. Macao and Wakaba were sharing jokes again and Romeo was playing with Happy. Elfman made the mistake to challenge Cana in a drinking contest to prove how "manly" he was. Sad to say, he passed out after five rounds while Cana was easily chugging down a barrel of alcohol with no sweat.

"How do you do it?" Erza asked.

Naruto gave her a confused look. "Do what?"

The red-haired mage just gestured at everything around her. "You have a way with people."

"Well, I don't know about that." Naruto said while rubbing the back of his head. "What I do know is the best way to deal with sadness is to pick your self up and move forward."

Erza nodded and the two sat in comfortable silence for a while before Mira served Naruto his bowl of ramen. The blonde inhaled his noodles in record time and sipped the remaining broth straight from the bowl. When he set the bowl back down, Erza let out a small laugh as a stray noodle dangled on his upper lip.

"What's so funny?"

* * *

That night, everyone decided that it would be safer to travel back home in groups or with partners as a precaution. Erza insisted that Naruto join her and Gray to make sure they all got home safely. He agreed and Natsu was left to partner with Lucy and Happy. All of the guild members left that night, each heading toward their respective homes.

They arrived at Gray's apartment after a long and silent walk. None of the three really felt like starting a conversation.

"Seriously, I don't need you guys to look after me." Gray complained. "I can take care of myself."

Erza shook her head. "We can't take that chance, Gray. We have to stay together, at least until this ordeal with Phantom settles down."

Gray sighed as he dug out his keys and unlocked the door to his apartment. Erza was about to follow him as he stepped inside but looked back to see Naruto casting a hard look into the distance.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Erza asked.

He was still frowning when he answered. "I…felt something."

She didn't know what he meant by that, but she didn't press him and went inside the apartment. Naruto followed a little while later, looking a bit troubled. They made arrangements for Erza to take the bedroom and the two boys would take the couches. Erza bid them good night and closed the door to the bedroom.

Erza changed into her night clothes and climbed onto the bed.

The red-haired mage lay in bed staring at the ceiling, unable to get any real sleep. Too many things were occupying her thoughts at the moment, mostly about Phantom Lord.

Why? Erza thought. It was the question that Erza wanted answered. It was true that the two guilds have never been on the best of terms and that they were considered rivals but what could have possibly pushed them to do something like this? It was at that moment that sleep overcame her and left her questions unanswered.

Meanwhile, Naruto quietly slipped out of the apartment through the window and began to speedily make his way among the rooftops, heading toward a specific location. The uneasy feeling kept bothering him and he finally decided to investigate.

* * *

Team Shadow Gear, which consisted of Levy, Jet and Droy, were slowly walking through the nearly deserted streets of Magnolia. It was pretty late and the street they were walking on was completely deserted. Jet and Droy have made several attempts to cheer up their depressed teammate but have been unsuccessful so far.

"Don't worry Levy." Jet said. "Mira says that the guild hall would be fixed in a couple of days and everything will be back to normal."

"Yeah and maybe tomorrow, we can go on a job. You pick this time." Droy said.

Levy forced a small smile. "Thanks guys. I appreciate the effort but I just can't put myself at ease."

"We're all still on edge." Jet admitted dejectedly.

Droy balled up his fists. "I swear if one of those Phantom mages shows me their face, I'll kick their ass!"

"Is that so?" A low and menacing voice said at that.

Team Shadow Gear whirled around to see a man with long spiky black hair and piercings standing behind them. He grinned evilly at them and Levy didn't like the look in his eyes. He was looking at them as if he'd found his next target and he was eager to let loose.

"Who are you?" Jet demanded. He and Droy protectively stood in front of Levy.

The man chuckled. "That's funny. For a moment there, you actually thought you had a chance to beat me in a fight."

"Listen, I don't know who you are but-," Whatever Droy was about to say was cut off as a metal column slammed painfully into his gut and sent him flying backward. Before Jet could even yell his name, another column smashed into his chest and was also sent flying back.

"JET! DROY!" Levy shouted in distress. She rushed over to check on them. Thankfully, they were only unconscious but their breathing was shallow and she could see that Jet had broken a few ribs.

"That was pathetic!" The assailant grunted in disgust. "And here I thought I might actually have some fun tonight. I guess you fairytail wizards are just trash after all."

"Please, stop this!" Levy pleaded with tears in her eyes. "Why are you doing this?"

The assailant just bared his teeth in a wicked smile. "I figured that I'd teach you weaklings a new lesson. It seems that wrecking your guild hall wasn't enough so I decided to take it up a notch."

"Wait, you mean you're…" Levy trailed off as meaning sunk in.

"That's right. I'm Phantom's Iron Dragonslayer, Gajeel Redfox!"

Horror froze Levy in place as she stared at the man in front of her. There was no way she could beat him in a straight fight. Maybe if Erza, Gray, or Natsu were here, then they might have stood a chance. Now she was helpless and alone. She was scared. She wanted to scream for help but was afraid of what Gajeel might do.

Gajeel cocked his right fist backwards and Levy knew that there wasn't anything she could do. She crossed her arms protectively in front of her and closed her eyes as she knelt next to her fallen teammates and waited for the blow.

"Iron Dragon's Club!"

Levy waited for the attack to connect. She felt something whiz past her and she flinched as she heard the sound of impact, but she was perfectly fine.

She opened her eyes and gasped.

"Are you okay, Levy?"

Naruto stood in front of her with his hand extended forward, holding the metal club that was aimed for her in place. Naruto had a hard and fierce look in his eyes that scared her even more than Gajeel. The dragonslayer retracted the club back and it transformed back into his arm.

"So, another weakling decides to come out and play." Gajeel smirked. "That's just great, more for me!"

Naruto glared at the man. "You're going to regret showing you face here tonight. When I'm through with you, I'll send you back to your guild in a body bag."

It wasn't the words that scared Levy, but the calm and cold fury behind the words. Even Gajeel showed a slight twinge of nervousness.

Naruto spoke to the blue-haired girl without taking his eyes off Gajeel. "Levy, I want you to take Jet and Droy to the closest guild member's house you know. My clones will help you carry them. Call for back-up as soon as you get those tow someplace safe, got it?"

Levy nodded and Naruto summoned two shadow clones. Each clone hoisted the two injured members onto their backs.

"What about you?" Levy asked nervously. She didn't want to leave him to fight the Dragonslayer alone, but she knew that she'll only be in his way.

Naruto turned his head to look at her and gave her a confident smile. "Don't worry about me. Just get somewhere safe and make sure Jet and Droy are alright. I don't want anymore of my friends to get hurt."

Levy hesitated for a moment.

"Go on. I just have garbage I need to dispose of." Naruto turned his head again to face Gajeel, who was cracking his knuckles eagerly in anticipation.

She didn't like it but she turned and ran from the street and rounded the next corner with Naruto's clones at her heels.

When they disappeared around the corner, Naruto focused all of his attention at the man who caused his friends' distress. In spite of himself, Naruto grinned.

"What are you smiling about?" Gajeel demanded.

Naruto shrugged. "Nothing, I was just thinking about what you're going to look like when I'm through with you. Because I guarantee that you'll be sorry that you ever decided to mess with my guild."

The blonde got into a fighting stance and Gajeel grunted as he cocked his fist backwards. "Iron Dragon's Club!"


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Iron Dragon Slayer

"How much farther, Levy?" The clone carrying an unconscious Droy asked.

"Just four more blocks ahead!" The girl replied breathlessly.

The trio decided to pick up the pace a little bit. Levy was lagging behind as the two blondes powered ahead of her. She desperately tried to catch up but unfortunately, she was never the physical type of person. She preferred to solve problems with her mind and intellect rather than jumping into the middle of scuffles and fights. Clearly this wasn't the case since Naruto's two clones were holding back just for her to keep up with them.

Worst of all, she had been useless when her friends were attacked. She just stood by and watched while Jet and Droy didn't even hesitate when they stepped up to shield her. She couldn't even defend herself from the dragon slayer and if it weren't for Naruto, she would be in the same state as her two teammates. How pathetic...

"Levy…" Naruto's voice startled her.

She had been so lost in thought that she didn't notice one of the clones reducing his pace to run alongside her.

The solid script mage was met with the most amazing set of intense blue eyes she had ever seen. Within these two orbs was a deep and vast bottomless well of emotions. The most prominent were determination, courage, and above all else, unfathomable kindness.

"It'll be alright." He assured. "Once we get to Mira and Elfman's house, I want you to find a way to contact Master Makarov and tell him what happened."

"But-," Naruto cut her off before she could say anymore.

"We need to inform him about the situation immediately. First aid won't be enough for Jet's condition and Droy isn't any better. He can take them to that healer you guys were telling me about. Let Mira look after them for a while. I'm sure that they'll be in good hands until then."

Levy thought about what he was saying and Naruto continued. "After we drop them off at the Strauss's, Elfman and I will gather the closest guild members we can find and assist my original self as soon as we can. Hopefully I can stall Gajeel long enough for back-up to arrive."

Any suggestions or arguments she had died in her throat. He spoke with such confidence and authority that it left no room for her to doubt him. This was an entirely different person from the easygoing and goofy attitude he always displayed. Apparently, there was a lot more to the enigma that was known as Naruto.

* * *

"I'll admit. You are one tough bastard." Gajeel grudgingly said. "Now hold still so I could pummel you! Iron dragon's Spear!"

Gajeel's right arm morphed into a huge pointed tip and extended toward Naruto, hoping to impale him. The blonde narrowly dodged it by jumping straight up into the air. He then summoned a clone next to him and his copy quickly pushed him back toward the ground.

The blonde shinobi landed on the long metal spear and the point ended up embedded in the ground before it could crash into the window of a nearby flower shop.

The dragon slayer retracted the spear and it morphed back into his arm.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he took a quick glance at the small crater the attack left behind. The two of them have been going at it for a few minutes now. None of them were going all out yet, although for different reasons. Gajeel was merely testing him to see if he could have a little bit of fun with his opponent while Naruto held back because he didn't want things to get too rough since they were currently in the residential part of town.

They resorted to close range, hand to hand combat for a while. Naruto refrained from using shuriken and kunai since his opponent was an Iron dragon slayer. If he was anything like Natsu who could eat flames, then tossing him some weapons made of iron would put him at a slight disadvantage. He might as well say: _Here, eat some of this so you can rearrange my face!_

The blonde knew the type of person his opponent was. He was the hot-headed and wild kind of person who enjoys a little bit of carnage every now and then. He could see it in his eyes. Gajeel wouldn't hesitate to destroy a few houses. His only weakness was that he doesn't seem to be very intelligent and that he prefers using his fists to solve his problems.

Gajeel was predictable but still dangerous. Naruto would have to play this carefully and stall him for a bit longer.

An idea popped into his head and shouted. "Hey ass wipe, catch me if you can!"

The Phantom mage was surprised and outraged as the blonde ran vertically up one of the houses. He cast a mischievous look over his shoulder and began to dash amongst the rooftops.

"Running away? You're nothing but a spineless coward after all!" Gajeel yelled. He transformed his two legs into iron poles and shot upward. He landed heavily on top of the roof of a nearby house and spotted the retreating figure. Naruto sent him another look and curled his fingers at Gajeel, daring him to follow.

Gajeel was not one to back down from a challenge and swiftly followed the blonde.

Naruto had to smirk as he sensed the presence of the iron dragon slayer starting to catch up with him. Now all he had to do was lead him into a less populated area to cut loose. He could hear him throwing insults and taunts.

"I never thought that Fairytail was a mage's guild full of cowards!" Gajeel shouted at him. "You're all a bunch of cowards and weaklings!"

Naruto clenched his fists tightly in anger. He had no right to talk trash about them when he destroyed their guildhall while their backs were turned. Now he had the audacity to brand them as weak and worthless. His eyes flashed red for a moment before he reigned in his temper under control.

He felt the momentary surge of the Kyuubi's chakra enter his system. He won't allow himself to rely on the fox's power this time or else he might end up destroying Magnolia.

They neared the edge of town and Naruto leaped into the forest with an irate Gajeel following behind him.

"I'm sick of this!" Gajeel yelled. "Iron Dragon's Spear!"

The blonde was caught unprepared by the sudden attack and the pointed tip pierced his left thigh. He stumbled and fell as pain flared up his left leg, failing to support his weight. He groaned as he pushed himself off the ground and leaned against a tree for support. The wound was deep and blood ran freely down his skin. He transferred most of his weight onto his right leg to put pressure off of his other limb.

He heard something heavy land a few feet away from him and turned to face a smirking Gajeel.

"Now then, let's get back to business." He said cracking his knuckles.

Naruto pushed himself off of the tree and took up a fighting stance as best as he could with his injury. He could already feel the fox's chakra starting to heal him but it won't be able to close the wound as fast because of its size and only a small portion of the chakra was seeping out of the seal at the moment. He would have to avoid using that part of his body for now.

"I guess I'm down to my last leg, so to speak." Naruto quipped. Even though he knew this was a serious situation, he couldn't resist.

Gejeel rolled his eyes in annoyance and grunted. "You're still trying to act all tough huh? Let me see if I can beat some sense into you."

Naruto just shrugged before he showed him a feral grin. "Just because my left leg is out of commission doesn't mean that I still can't beat the crap out of you."

To prove his point, he swiftly threw a kunai at Gajeel.

Being the arrogant man that he was, the phantom mage waited until the object was close enough before catching it between his teeth. Obviously, he didn't know that he could eat metal and that it only gave him an energy boost. He was about to swallow the knife when he noticed a piece of paper attached to it with some string.

Suddenly, Gajeel found himself blown away as the piece of paper exploded right in his face.

He slammed against a tree and before he could recover, two of Naruto's clones rammed their fists into his gut. He coughed up a small amount of blood before a third clone planted his foot on his face.

Gajeel doubled over as he coughed up some more and greedily inhaled some air. The follow up punch to his abdomen really knocked the wind right out of him. It's been a while since he found someone who hits this hard. This guy was serious.

"That was for Droy," He heard the blonde's menacing voice. "I'm just getting started."

He straightened up to see Naruto being supported by a clone. His right arm draped over his copy's shoulder as he kept himself upright. The two of them were glaring at Gajeel. The two of them growled in unison.

"You're going to pay for what you did to my friends tonight."

* * *

Erza was woken by the sound of frantic knocking on her bedroom door. She quickly dispelled of her drowsiness and magically changed into her armor as she got out of bed. Only then did she realize that this was not her room and remembered that she was at Gray's house.

She opened the door to find a slightly agitated and half-naked Gray standing outside. The ice mage raised his eyebrows in surprise and blinked a few times.

"You sleep in your armor?"

Erza barely managed to avoid rolling her eyes at him. "What is it?"

The raven haired boy turned serious again. "It's Naruto, he's gone."

"What?" She exclaimed as she pushed past him to find an empty living room and kitchen.

"I woke up a few minutes ago to get a drink of water before I realized that the other couch was empty." Gray said from behind her.

"He wouldn't just sneak off in the middle of the night for no reason at all." Erza stated. She spotted the window slightly ajar and walked over to it. Naruto must have jumped out the window instead of using the door to avoid making noise.

Gray shrugged. "Maybe something happened or he went to go check something out. I just can't shake off the feeling like something's up, you know?"

Erza only nodded. Naruto may be dense at times but he was very far from stupid. She couldn't help but feel a little worried about her friend rushing off into the middle of the night, especially with the situation between Phantom Lord and their guild. She knew she was being silly, the blonde could take care of himself and he was fierce in battle, but the lingering feeling of doubt still remained.

A loud knocking brought her out of her thoughts and she was immediately alert. She summoned one of her swords and Gray brought his hands together, a thin layer of mist swirling around his enclosed fist. They couldn't take any chances.

Erza made her way over to the door and grasped the handle. Gray nodded and she yanked the door open and pointed her sword at the doorway.

Elfman took a step back and raised his hands up in surrender. "Guys it's just me."

The two of them relaxed and lowered their guard.

"What is it Elfman?" Erza had a feeling she already knew the answer. Dread was starting to spread throughout her chest.

The tall mage's face was grim. "There's been an attack. Jet and Droy have been injured. Naruto's dealing with the bastard who did it and told us to get help."

Erza and Gray didn't even hesitate. "Lead the way."

* * *

Naruto barely managed to dodge as a huge sword cleaved the space where he was minutes ago. As if the sword wasn't massive enough, small pointy edges whirred to life as Gajeel took another swing at him. Luckily, he was able to substitute himself with a nearby log. The piece of wood shattered into splinters as Gajeel's Iron dragon sword sliced it.

The Phantom mage found the blonde leaning against another tree to support his weight.

So far, they've managed to take their fight to a higher level and now things were really starting to heat up.

Naruto cursed when he saw Gajeel bounding toward him with his sword poised to thrust. His injury was slowing him down too much. He can't launch a counter attack of his own. The dragon slayer was relentless and kept unleashing a barrage of attacks. Who knows how long he'll be able to keep evading.

 _I guess I'll just have to wing it this time_

Naruto rolled out of the way just in time. Gajeel's sword embedded itself deep into the tree where he was a few seconds ago. The blonde was able to get back unsteadily to his feet and crossed his fingers. "Shadow clone justu!"

Seven clones puffed into existence and rushed at Gajeel. The sword transformed back into his arm. The dragon slayer saw them coming and smirked. Larger numbers didn't make a difference. He would crush them all.

"Bring it on!" He shouted.

He was able to deliver a brutal elbow thrust to the first clone and a quick head-butt to the second clone. He caught the third clone's punch in his right hand and sent a roundhouse kick of his own. The fourth clone's drop kick was blocked by Gajeel's forearm. As fast as a cobra, he readjusted his hand and grabbed the clone's ankle before hurling him into a tree.

The fifth clone however, snuck up behind him and locked his arms in place.

"Eat this!" The sixth clone burst out of the bushes holding a bright blue sphere in his right hand. "This is for Jet!"

"Rasengan!"

The clone rammed the spiraling orb into the dragon slayer's gut. Gajeel grunted in pain when it made contact and he was blasted backwards, breaking through a few trees in the process. The clones puffed out of existence and Naruto shakily got back up on his feet. He held on to a tree for support. His eyes scanned the trail of wreckage.

He frowned. _That was almost too easy…_

Suddenly, a giant metal spearhead went flying toward him. Luckily, he was able to react fast enough to dodge. If he hadn't been able to lean a little bit to the left, he could have ended up impaled.

A maniacal laughter echoed through the forest and he could hear footsteps and snapping twigs getting closer. Gajeel emerged from the tree line a few moments later.

"Impressive," He smirked. "But it's going to take a lot more than that to put me down." It was then that Naruto noticed the change.

The dragon slayer's skin had transformed into iron scales. An armor that resembled a dragon's hide gave him a more beastlike appearance. It didn't even appear to be heavy, like it was a natural part of his flesh. Great, now what was he supposed to?

Naruto saw him cock his fist back and managed to leap out of the way as he heard a shout of: "Iron Dragon's Club!"

It took a huge amount of effort but he managed to land on a thick tree branch. He was loosing ground fast and he had to think of something to turn the tides. He needed a way to pierce his platinum like scales. Naruto tried to come up with something when a distant memory resurfaced.

An image of a bearded man with a lit cigarette in his mouth gave him some advice: _Imagine two surfaces grinding against each other and make it as thin as possible…_

The image of Erigor the Reaper came to mind along with his magic of wind. It was then that he remembered he had an affinity for wind as well.

"Iron Dragon's Roar!"

Naruto jumped off the branch just before the attack obliterated the spot where he was seconds ago. He ducked into a roll and ended in a crouch on the ground. A heavy thud alerted him that Gajeel landed behind him.

Flashing a set of hand seals, the blonde turned around and inhaled deeply. "Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullets!"

A barrage of wind bullets erupted from Naruto's mouth and headed straight for Gajeel. He focused on one point instead of hitting multiple areas of his opponent's body. The repeated force of the attack caused the iron scales on his chest to crack a little bit. The dragon slayer noticed this and jumped out of the way.

Gajeel inhaled deeply. "Iron Dragon's Roar!"

Naruto dashed out of the way and hid behind a tree. He took out a pair of kunai knives and thought about his next move. He definitely managed to make a small chink in Gajeel's armor. Now he needed to exploit that and use it to his advantage. Still, it was only a small opening for him to use. He needed to make it bigger.

"I know you're there!" Gajeel exclaimed. That was Naruto's only warning before he leaped forward as the tree he hid behind was sawed in half by the dragon slayer's gigantic sword.

The two now stood a few meters apart, staring each other down.

Naruto gripped both of the kunai in his hands tightly. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly to calm himself. It was time to finish this.

Without hesitating, the blonde shinobi dashed forward.

Gajeel smirked at the sight of the incoming attacker. What the hell was he supposed to do with those knives? He won't even be able to make a scratch on his Iron dragon scales. He grinned, showing his row of pointed teeth when he noticed that the blonde still had a bit of a limp. He transformed his right arm into his Iron dragon sword and stood to meet the blonde's assault.

The blonde gritted his teeth as he felt pain shoot through his left leg each time he took a step. He was slower than normal because of it. Naruto forced himself to move in spite of the discomfort.

He held his two kunai at the ready. He started pumping wind chakra into the blades. A slight humming noise told him that it was working. If things went smoothly, he could take down the dragon slayer right then and there.

The Phantom mage was ready for him. He dodged a swing from his massive sword by ducking underneath the weapon. Naruto thrust out his right kunai but Gajeel saw it coming and sidestepped the attack. The blonde decided to follow it up by pivoting on his right foot toward the left to strike the dragon slayer with his other kunai.

However, Gajeel managed to grab his wrist with his free hand. "Nice try, punk."

Naruto smirked. He tossed the two knives he was holding into the air by flicking both of his hands upward. Naruto brought his hands together to form a hand seal and a clone puffed into existence above the two of them. The shadow clone caught the two kunai that were still laced with wind chakra and brought them down viciously in a cross marked slash.

Gajeel staggered backward. His face was in a mixture of shock, anger, and disbelief.

 _Impossible!_ He thought. Not only were the knives able to cut through his armor, they were able to cut into his bare flesh underneath his scales. Now his chest had a huge X carved into it, causing more cracks and chips in his armor. His face contorted into one of rage as he felt something warm running down his chest: Blood.

"YOU BASTARD, I'LL CRUSH YOU FOR THIS!" Gajeel yelled. He looked up and his eyes widened.

He never even got a chance to move. While he was in his state of shock, the dragon slayer wasn't able to see Naruto's clone forming a blue orb on the original's outstretched hand. The clone dispersed as Naruto suddenly appeared in front of Gajeel.

"One more time," Naruto said. "Rasengan!"

He slammed the orb at the center of the x mark on Gajeel's chest. The dragon slayer howled in pain as soon as it made contact. His Iron dragon scales shattered into pieces and the phantom mage was blasted backward.

* * *

"Ouch! Man, that stings lady!" Naruto said. Porlyusica just rolled her eyes at the blonde.

"Oh quit your whining! It was only some salve that will stop the bleeding." The elderly woman said irritably. She applied a fresh set of bandages on Naruto's leg and went to check on her other two patients.

The blonde's gaze lingered on Jet and Droy on the two beds next to him. They were both sleeping peacefully at the moment thanks to a medical concoction of Porlyusica which acts as a painkiller. Thankfully, they were both in stable condition and diagnosed to be able to make a full recovery in a matter of days.

"Thank you," Naruto said to the healer.

Porlyusica just huffed before exiting the guild's medical wing.

Makarov spoke. "You'll have to excuse my friend's attitude Naruto. She doesn't like humans that much."

The blonde just nodded.

They were able to track him down earlier thanks to Natsu's enhanced sense of smell. They found him sitting on the ground leaning against a tree. Aside from his leg injury, he was perfectly fine if not a little exhausted. Erza and Lucy helped him on his feet and took him to the guild's medical ward where Jet and Droy were being treated. Natsu and the rest took off to see if they could still capture Gajeel who was defeated by Naruto. Unfortunately, they were unable to locate the missing Phantom mage and deduced that he already made a hasty retreat.

Levy sat in between her teammates' beds, tears streaming down the sides of her face as she looked upon the state her friends was in. Lucy sat next to her and tried to come up with some way to cheer her up. Unfortunately, the petite solid script mage was inconsolable at the moment.

Everyone was gathered around the two injured members of their guild. Natsu was pacing back and forth restlessly. Gray crossed his arms and leaned against the wall with a frown on his face while Mira kept fiddling with her dress. Elfman sat on the other side of Droy and kept clenching and unclenching his fists.

"This is all, my fault…" Levy muttered under her breath. Although her voice was barely above a whisper, everyone heard her.

It was Erza who spoke up. "Levy, if anyone should be blamed, it's Phantom Lord."

"She's right, Levy-chan." Naruto seconded. "The three of you were unprepared and simply outmatched. Those cowards just love to stab their opponents' backs while they weren't looking."

The solid script mage just nodded. She still wasn't convinced.

Another long silence filled the room before Naruto noticed Makarov's hands clench into fists.

"Jose's gone too far with this stunt." Makarov growled. Everyone turned their attention to their guild master. "He can destroy a thousand guild halls for all I care! He needs to be reminded that he should NEVER lay a finger on my children! If he wants a war, then he's got one."

Everyone in the room felt bolstered by their master's speech. They all knew that no one gets away with hurting one of their own. It was in this sense that Fairytail was a big family, where everyone looked out for one another. Now, it was time to take action.

"Everyone, gather the rest of the guild!" Makarov commanded. "We move out at first light!"

Everyone gave their shouts of affirmative. Natsu's fist caught on fire and he had an excited but fierce look in his eyes.

"I'll burn them all to a crisp!" He declared before leaving to round up the rest of the guild members. Gray, Elfman, Mira, and Lucy followed. Erza was about to do the same when her gaze drifted over to Naruto.

Erza noticed that Naruto had fallen silent. His eyes were downcast and had a faraway quality to them.

"Naruto, are you alright?" The red-head asked.

The blonde looked up and he forced a smile. "Yeah, I am. I was just...thinking."

That was a lie. She could just tell by looking at him. Something was bothering her friend, but she didn't know what. She made a mental note to talk to him about it later. Right now, she had to do her part for the upcoming attack on Phantom Lord.

"I'll see you later Erza-chan." Naruto called out. She flashed him a small smile before exiting the room.

As soon as she left, the blonde's thoughts began to turn to the future battle that was sure to take place. He placed his face in his hands and let out a deep sigh. All of this fighting was pointless. His guild will strike at Phantom but of course the other side won't just sit by and let that happen. They'll retaliate as well.

An image of a middle aged man with long spiky white hair appeared in his mind.

" _I believe that there will come a time when people can really understand one another."_ He said.

Another face appeared and this time it was a young boy with black hair.

" _I believe that when you have someone precious to protect, that is when a person becomes truly strong."_

Damn it. Who were these people? Why couldn't he remember them? Every time an image pops into his head, it fades away just as fast. He felt like shouting just to relieve his frustration. It was painful to remember the faces of people from your past but not remember who they were or what they meant to you.

"Naruto…" Master Makarov's voice brought him back from his thoughts. He looked down to see the small old man staring back at him in concern. "I know that we've already discussed about what would happen if Phantom pulled something like this on us. I know how you feel about getting even but I hope you can understand my decision."

The blonde shinobi nodded. "I understand. Although I have to wonder: why would they provoke us to the point of starting an all out guild war?"

"I don't know what Jose might be thinking." Makarov muttered. "I can tell you this, he has something planned and I doubt that it will end well for us."

Naruto stood from the bed. "In that case, I'm going with you guys. I'll help-,"

"No." Makarov cut him off. "I and the others will be enough. I have a bad feeling about what is about to transpire and that is why I need you here. Laxus and two of our other S-class mages are currently out on missions. I can't count on them for assistance. I need someone I can depend on to look after the few guild members that will not take part in the battle. Naruto, I've only known you for a short time but I can tell that you are a strong and trustworthy person. I'm placing the guild in your hands while I'm gone, understood?"

Naruto's eyes widened at the amount of responsibility the master was placing on him. It felt overwhelming to entrust you with the safety and well being of your friends and comrades. Strangely though, it felt familiar.

"You can count on me." Naruto said.

Makarov smiled. He felt relieved and grateful that he could count on the blonde's help. He meant every word of what he told the young man. It really was peculiar that he was placing a huge amount of trust to someone he only met three weeks ago. Makarov erased any shred of doubt he had on his mind at the moment. He had a battle to fight.

* * *

Jose Porla looked down at the beaten and ragged form of Gajeel. He was surprised by what his dragon slayer reported. A young mysterious blonde man was able to defeat one of his most powerful mages in combat. That was strange. He thought that he knew all of the promising and powerful mages in that wretched guild of Makarov's.

"Are you sure that it was not Laxus who defeated you?" The guild master of Phantom asked.

Gajeel shook his head. "It wasn't him. He doesn't use lightning magic. He kept on making copies of himself and he had like whisker marks on his cheeks."

Jose pondered on this for a while. Makarov's grandson didn't have the description his subordinate supplied him with. It couldn't possibly be Mystogan either since his face was always hidden by a mask. Also, it couldn't possibly be the legendary Gildarts or else he would be picking up pieces of his dragon slayer instead of talking to him. Who was this mysterious mage?

The guild master just chuckled. "It doesn't matter. The old fool would never let this incident slide. Two of his precious children were attacked and injured. I would expect them to arrive tomorrow morning so I suggest you prepare. Besides, there's only one blonde I'm interested in at the moment. Tell Sol and Miss Juvia to pick up our young Heartfilia."

The dragon slayer nodded and left the room.

 _I'm waiting, Makarov. It's time to show the world who the better guild really is!_

* * *

Mira read the note that was placed on the countertop of the bar. She was one of the few who opted to stay while the others launched an assault on Phantom. She knew Lucy, Levy, Naruto, and a few others chose to remain and watch over the guild as well. It was times like these when she wished she was her old self: A tough and fearless S-class mage who could be useful and not some barmaid who has to sit and worry in the guild all day long.

The note was from Naruto.

 _Dear Mira,_

 _I'm going to train out in the forest for a while and I may not come back until tomorrow. If something bad happens, I was told that you have some kind of flare that would shoot up into the sky. Use that in case there's any sign of trouble and I'll be back as quick as I can. There's just something I have to do._

 _-Your friend, Naruto_


	19. Chapter 19

_Orochimaru's subordinate threw another roundhouse kick at the blonde woman that sent her rolling. The white-haired boy with glasses leisurely made his way to her again. The woman was struggling to get back on her feet but she seemed to be in a state of shock. She kept staring at the droplets of blood that had landed on the back of her trembling hand._

" _I can't believe I looked up to you." Kabuto sneered. "You were the greatest medical ninja that ever graced the Elemental Nations! The Slug Princess, Tsunade! Now look at you, cowering at the sight of a little blood. You're pathetic!"_

 _He cocked his fist back to throw another punch. His fist went for her face but was blocked by Naruto. The blonde boy smirked at him before a clone appeared out of nowhere and rammed his foot into Kabuto's chin in an uppercut. The ninja stumbled backward a few feet before glaring at Naruto._

 _Tsunade seemed brought out of her hemophilic state long enough to notice Naruto standing in front of her with a clone at his side._

" _Naruto, what are you doing?! Get out of here or he'll kill you too!" The blonde woman pleaded. She was surprised when the boy just smirked back at her._

" _That's not going to happen." She heard him say. "Because I'm not going to die until I become Hokage!"_

 _Kabuto charged and lunged at Naruto with a kunai in hand. The boy didn't even wince when the kunai cut deep into his hand. Kabuto's eyes widened when the blonde's injured hand gripped his own holding the weapon, therefore rendering him unable to break from the boy's grasp._

" _Get ready to pay up on our bet, granny." He stretched out his hand and the clone began to form a blue rotating sphere on his palm…_

Naruto was brought out of his meditative state by a drop of water landing on his head. He opened his eyes and saw a drop fall, followed by another. Soon, drizzle turned into rain as he noticed the dark grey clouds that were forming overhead. The blonde didn't bother to stay dry since he was already soaked.

He got up on his feet and stretched. He had been in meditating for hours now without moving. It was essential to remain still to gather and harness Nature Energy. He was slowly getting the hang of it by now.

Next to him, three shadow clones were also sitting in a meditating pose. He was thankful for the clones' skill, which was regaining the memory of the clone that was dispersed. He was able to speed up the process of his training because of this. Although he had to be careful about dispelling them all at once because he got a massive headache from the simultaneous memories rushing into his mind. He also had four more clones reading up on some scrolls that were sealed in a storage scroll. Fuinjutsu, the art of sealing, might come in handy in the future.

Thunder boomed overhead, which caused Naruto to frown.

For some reason, the sudden change in weather bothered him. Now that he was relearning how to control Nature Energy, he also learned to sense different types of magic signatures. The rain wasn't natural and it made him feel uneasy.

Then again, Mira hadn't set off a flare yet. He left her a note saying that if there was an emergency, she would find a way to notify him. If that was the case, then that meant there was nothing to worry about. Naruto scanned the sky once more to make sure the sound of thunder didn't cover up the sound of the signal.

 _'I'm probably getting worked up over nothing,'_ He thought as he sat back down on the grass to meditate. He wasn't able to fully convince himself though.

* * *

Erza cursed herself for the millionth time already. She felt a single tear slide down her face and wiped it off as quickly as she could. Hopefully none of the other guild members noticed. She couldn't afford to look weak and helpless right now, not when everybody else was feeling the same.

They finally arrived back at Magnolia after reaching the top of the hill and saw the town spread out before them. Dejectedly, the mages slowly began to walk back to the guild hall. Their recent defeat hung over all of them.

The redhead clenched her fists tightly. This was all her fault. If she had accompanied the master to fight Jose, then maybe he wouldn't be drained of all his magic at the moment. She knew that the guild master Phantom Lord must've had something up his sleeves, but she failed to act until it was too late.

The next thing she knew was the small form of master Makarov falling from the ceiling…

"Guys, wait up!" She heard someone call out behind them. Everyone turned to see Natsu, Happy, and surprisingly Lucy walking toward them. It was surprising because Erza thought that the blonde opted to stay in the guild hall than to take part in the battle.

"Where've you been, Natsu?" Gray asked once the trio caught up with the rest of the group. "You disappeared right after Erza called the retreat."

Natsu's expression darkened a little bit. "Well, you see-,"

Whatever he was about to say was cut off by Lucy, who grabbed the teen's arm. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying, Erza didn't know why though. The girl made eye contact with Natsu and silently pleaded with him: _Please, not now._

The dragon slayer got the message and decided to keep his mouth shut for now. Erza could tell that something had clearly made Lucy upset. She would just have to ask her later.

* * *

 _Damn brat!_

Jose was still clutching his throbbing family jewels thanks to his encounter with the Heartfilia heiress. The girl had caught him by surprise which he swore would never happen again. Thanks to her, his reputation has been pegged down slightly. It wasn't easy to look like a ruthless and dignified guild master while holding an ice pack to your crotch.

Gajeel was snickering as he stood next to the Element four. Jose shot him a death glare that shut him up instantly. He turned to the rest of his subordinates.

"Prepare to move out! It's time to eradicate these pests once and for all!"

* * *

"They're back!" Mira heard someone yell. She put down the tray of drinks she was about to deliver and rushed outside to see the dejected and battle weary faces of her friends. Mira rushed toward her brother immediately and engulfed him in a big hug.

"Thank goodness you're all okay." She said, wiping a few stray tears. Other guild members forced a smile and nodded. It truly was a miracle that they only suffered minimal casualties.

Erza stepped forward. "Did any attacks happen while we were gone?"

Mira just shook her head. "Fortunately, there was none and-,"

She caught sight of a blonde haired girl standing off to the back of the group. "There you are Lucy!"

The celestial spirit mage was surprised when Mira came over and hugged her tight.

"Where have you been?! I thought something terrible happened to you after you went missing like that!" Mira said. "I searched everywhere for you!"

Lucy felt the tears beginning to pool around her eyes. They were worried about her and tried to find her after she got kidnapped by two of Phantom's Element four. Not to mention that Natsu saved her life when she leaped off the tower back at Phantom Lord's. She had never felt so at home anywhere else except here, with her friends at Fairytail. That was why she couldn't help but let the tears flow and sobbed as Mira pulled her in for another hug.

"We should all head back inside." Erza told them. "We have a lot to talk about."

They spent the next hour filling the guild members in on what happened at Phantom Lord's guild hall. The injured were treated while the others just simply listened to Erza as she recapped the battle. The red-head's voice shook a little when she got to the part about Master Makarov getting drained of his magic. Mira gasped and the others who weren't there had similar reactions.

They all sat in a stunned silence for a while after the tale was done.

"What happens now?" Macao asked.

His friend Wakaba sighed. "Phantom might attack us again this time, but with more force and numbers. We're really not in the best position to defend the guild hall if it comes down to that."

Mira nodded. "He's right. I'm going to contact Laxus and the Thunder God tribe to see if they could lend us a hand."

Loki snorted. "You really think that stuck-up prick and his three stooges would help us? They don't give a shit about Fairytail."

"It's worth a try, Loki. I hate turning to someone that's as much of a dispicable disgrace to Fairytail as Laxus myself, but we hardly have any choice since we need all the help we can get." Erza said. Her head looked up and scanned the room. She turned to Mira. "Speaking of which, where's Naruto?"

"He's somewhere in the forest along the outskirts of the town, training. He told me to use a flare to signal him if there was any sign of danger."

Erza nodded but she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. She had been hoping to see Naruto straightaway when they got back. She didn't know why but she wished that he was here right now. He radiated that strange aura that made you feel safe and calm. Maybe he would know what to do in this situation.

She was brought out of her thoughts when Gray spoke up. "There's something that I just can't figure out. Why would they go through all of this trouble to start a fight with us? I mean, sure we don't really get along and we've been competing for the top spot for a long time now but is that really all there is to it?"

Everyone seemed to ponder on this for a moment. The ice mage raised a fair point. Erza thought about that same question a few times and never found an answer. That's when she heard Lucy say softly: "It's all, my fault."

Erza and the others turned their eyes on her when they heard that. She stood at the back of the room, isolating herself from everyone. The girl had her arms wrapped around her midsection and she was holding back a lot of tears. Lucy couldn't meet anyone's gaze.

"Huh? Why would you say that, Lucy?" Elfman asked.

The blonde girl sniffled. "Because of my father…"

She then explained how she got kidnapped by Juvia and Sol of the Element four. She told them that she was the heiress to the Heartfilia family, why she ran away from home and her encounter with Jose. Everyone was just as shocked as Erza was. Although, anger soon replaced her surprise as she clenched her fists. How could any father do this to his own child?

"Oh, Lucy," Mira once again wrapped her arms around the girl and let out a few tears herself.

"I'm so sorry everyone." Lucy's shoulders began to shake and she sobbed on Mira's shoulder.

A fist slammed into a wall and everyone turned to see Natsu with a fierce glint in his eyes. "If they want to get Lucy, they're going to have to get through me first!"

"Hey, why do you get to be first flame breath?" Gray smirked. "They're going to have to get past me and don't worry Natsu, I'll save you some of the weak ones to fight."

"I'm going to fight too! I'm a real man!" Elfman declared.

Everyone began to cheer an assent. Lucy couldn't believe the number of people willing to protect her. She had only been here for a short time and yet they would go so far for her. Her heart swelled and she felt Erza's hand on her shoulder. The older girl had a smile on her face.

"You're not alone, Lucy." Erza told her. "You're a member of our family too."

* * *

Naruto and the clone he was sparring with froze in mid-swing, their fists inches away from connecting with the intended targets when they felt it. A huge magical signature was slowly moving. Whatever it was, it was massive and he could feel a lot of malicious intent within it. He could sense the direction it was headed and he didn't like it.

 _I guess Phantom Lord's here._

The blonde frowned. If Phantom Lord was indeed attacking, then something must have happened to the group that led an assault on them earlier. He dreaded to think of the possibilities. He just hoped that everyone made it back safely.

He dispelled his clones and began to prepare for the upcoming battle. He zipped up his jacket and attached his weapons pouch. He tied his forehead protector tightly and slipped on his sandals. He also picked up a long white coat with red flame designs along the bottom and short sleeves and put it on.

He closed his eyes and stood still for a moment before his eyelids turned orange and his eyes had morphed into toad's eyes. Naruto could go into sage mode pretty easily thanks to the abundance of Nature Energy in this place. Fiore was brimming with life and it made him feel good to breathe in a hefty amount of fresh, clean air.

He turned to the direction of Magnolia where Phantom Lord would be waiting for him.

 _I'm placing the guild in your hands while I'm gone._ Makarov had told him.

"I promised." Naruto said to himself.

A slight breeze of wind washed over the clearing and it made his coat flap in the same direction.

* * *

Erza pressed herself against the bathroom wall when she felt the ground shake underneath her. She hastily wrapped a towel around her and headed outside. Most of the guild members were already standing behind their guild hall, where they could get a good view of the ocean. What she saw however made her eyes go wide and a small amount of fear to crawled up her spine.

Heading toward them was the Phantom Lord guildhall. The colossal figure was supported by four large mechanical legs that made it look like a tortoise, with the guildhall as its shell. Another mini-earthquake hit them as the moving structure raised one of its legs and landed in the water.

"What the hell is that thing?!" One of them shouted.

"It's huge!" Wakaba exclaimed.

"Damn, they're relentless." Cana muttered angrily.

"Umm...Erza...? Maybe you should put on some clothes..." A blushing Lucy suggested, noticing her dripping form.

The structure took one last step before becoming absolutely still. Erza had a sense of foreboding. The rest of the gild was tense as they waited.

Then something opened up in front of the structure just below the guildhall. A large metallic tube extended forward and locked itself into place. Erza exchanged a couple of uneasy glances with some of her guild mates. She didn't like the fact that the cannon like thing was pointed at them.

Suddenly, a voice blared out. "Fire the Jupiter Cannon!"

Dark purple energy began to form at the opening of the cannon. Everyone from Fairytail stepped back as they realized what was about to happen. They had a few moments to get away from here before the weapon was finished charging. Erza clenched her fists. There was no way in hell would she ever let anything harm her family.

"Erza, what are you doing?!" Mirajane called out to her as she saw the redhead re-quip into her Adamantine armor.

The redhead placed herself in front of everyone else and locked her giant shield. "I won't let you!"

The Jupiter cannon launched a huge beam of energy toward them and Erza braced herself for the impact. The rest of the guild used their arms in an attempt to prepare for the shockwave that was sure to follow. Everyone waited for the blast to hit…

…but it never did.

Everyone opened their eyes and was shocked to see some kind of blast zoom towards the on fired by the Phantom Lord Guild hall. The two attacks met in a collision of power and exploded, canceling each other out as the sound of a sonic boom was heard, and it met the guild members gathered there; the winds from the explosion washed over everyone, threatening to send everyone flying.

When everything calmed down from the blast, everyone looked around.

"What the-?!" Natsu's question was interrupted.

"So...you're the mage that defeated my dragon slayer..." Jose's irritated voice blared once again. "To be honest, I thought that you'd be older..."

The members of Fairytail were confused for a moment, wondering who he was talking to when someone shouted. "Look, up there!"

Erza followed his gaze and saw what he was pointing at. She felt a big smile form on her face when she saw who it was standing on top of their guildhall. She honestly couldn't remember being more happy to see someone in her whole life.

"Too close...and damn using that was a complete, total, and utter BITCH...!" Naruto leaped down from the roof and landed lightly on the ground. The guild made way for him as he walked forward to face Phantom Lord.

The major attention grabbing point was the bubbling cloak of glowing red energy that covered his form in the outline of an animal, complete with ears and a trio of tails.

He sported what looked like claws on both his hands and feet. His lips had blackened and his canines had also lengthened and sharpened until they had turned into fangs while the pencil-thin whisker-like markings on his face had grown more pronounced, widening and darkening, until they resembled abysmal scars. His eyes had been the greatest change as, not only had his eye shape become more vulpine and had gained black eye rings around them like an animal, his once soulful blue eyes themselves had changed; becoming blood red with an animalistic, vertical black slit for the pupil.

Some type of demon takeover magic like Mira used? Either way, the aura and features vanished as he landed and stood up.

The redhead couldn't put her finger on it but he seemed different. His eyes had changed from blue to yellow and toad like. He strode with such confidence and authority that it gave him an intimidating effect. His face was hard and unreadable. She had seen this only a few times in their battle with Eisenwald. Naruto was serious.

"Jose, guild master of Phantom Lord, my name is Naruto Uzumaki and I would like to speak with you." He said with a cool and collected voice.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, young Naruto." Jose responded in an amused tone. "And what, pray tell, do you wish to speak to me about?"

Naruto drew a deep breath before answering. "I would like to call for a cease-fire and put an end to this battle before it gets out of hand."

This drew a lot of surprised looks and a shout of "WHAT?!" from Natsu. The blond ignored him and kept his gaze locked in front of him. Erza understood his intentions. Naruto wanted to call off the battle to avoid casualties on both sides. She resisted the urge to tell him that talking things out wasn't going to work at this point.

Laughter blared as Jose heard the blond's request. "Boy, you are naïve. Diplomacy will get us nothing. I came here with the sole purpose destroying your pathetic guild once and for all. Nothing you say can dissuade me from that goal."

"Battling with you was never our intention." Naruto replied, unfazed and determined. "Fairytail has done nothing to provoke a confrontation with you, and yet you attack us first. I wish to stop this before it escalates even further than necessary. We can all walk away from this."

"Why should we?" Jose countered. "I have enough magical power and the numbers to wipe you all out if I wanted to. Your guild hall is in ruins, Makarov is still drained of his magic, Laxus, as well as most of your other S-class wizards aren't here at the moment and your members are still weary from our last battle. From my point of view, you're doing nothing but stalling the inevitable."

Erza cursed silently. Everything Jose has said thus far was true. Her friends were still recovering slightly from their previous fight. There was no way the master would be in any condition to fight. Laxus was being a prick. God only knew where Mystogan was. She was the only S-class wizard available.

 _If only Mira could still fight..._

Then she remembered that maybe they did have a trump card up their sleeve. Looking at him now, she could feel the monstrous amount of energy coming off of Naruto. She remembered all of the battles when she saw the blond in action. He was a capable fighter in his own right, but now she was sure that he was on a whole new level. Mira had told her that he had been training since they left, but how could he have improved in just a few hours?

"No matter how strong you are, you will suffer casualties too." Naruto pushed. "We will not just stand idly by while you try to destroy everything precious to us. We will fight and you will acquire losses just as much as we do."

"I don't care. As long as you pests are eradicated then I will gladly expend any resources I have at my disposal, even my guild members' lives!" Jose declared.

Erza saw Naruto clench his fists. "How would you feel about a trade?"

Jose paused for a moment. "What trade?"

"If you promise to leave my friends alone and our guild hall untouched," Naruto inhaled before continuing. "I offer you my allegiance in eternal servitude. I shall become one of your members and do anything you ask as long as you swear to never again harm any of my friends."

A lot of guild members began to shout in protest. Erza couldn't believe what she just heard. Naruto was opting to throw himself into the enemy's hands just to protect them. Before she knew it, she had found herself next to him and clutching his arm tightly.

"There has to be another way." Her voice was shaky. "Don't do this."

He placed his hand on top of hers. "Don't worry about little old me. If there's a chance that this could be solved without any of you getting hurt, then I'll take it."

He placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face to meet his. A tiny smile that was both encouraging and a little sad was displayed on his face. His gaze was intense and Erza could barely remember how to breathe. Something fluttered inside her but she couldn't place it.

"Hmm, interesting," Jose's voice spoke again. "I must admit that your bargain is something that has caught my interest. You are powerful, oh yes. You managed to defeat my dragon slayer with minimum injuries and I also know that it was you who defeated Lullaby in Clover. Fascinating, your potential is limitless and I can assure you that, under my command and supervision, you may become quite formidable."

Jose paused for a few minutes. "I will consider your terms. However, I have my own Condition."

She felt Naruto tense.

"Hand over Lucy Heartfilia as well and I shall agree to call off the attack." Jose declared.

A small struggle broke out as several of the guild members had to restrain Natsu from charging. The pink-haired teen roared "Lucy's one of us! I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HER!"

"We would never do that! You'll have to kill us first!" Erza shouted as well. The rest of Fairytail took up the call and began to shout protests. In the background, Lucy couldn't hold back another round of tears.

Once they all settle down somewhat, Jose spoke again. "It's your call young Naruto. Either you and the Heartfilia heiress step into my guild hall without a fuss or you can refuse and witness the destruction of your wretched excuse for a guild."

All eyes turned to Naruto. He had his head bent slightly downward and a shadow covered his eyes. Erza saw his closed fist trembling with anger. A minute passed before Naruto lifted up his face.

"If you want Lucy, then you'll have to take her from my corpse 'cause there's no way in hell that I'll hand her over to you!"

A sinister chuckle was Jose's response. "So be it. From this point onwards, the battle will commence. I gave you the chance to walk away from annihilation and yet you refuse. Come then, young Naruto. Show me how powerful you are. I will wait for you. The Jupiter cannon fires again after seven minutes. If you all still miraculously survive the next blast, then I will show you the reason why Phantom Lord is the most fearsome guild in Fiore!"

Naruto wasn't going to let him have the last say in it though. "Making Fairytail your enemy was a grave mistake. Wait for me Jose and I will show you why."

The blonde turned to face his friends. They were all looking at him expectantly, even Erza. He scanned the weary faces of his friends. He could see their determination and will to fight to protect their home.

"Natsu," He called out to the dragon slayer. "The cannon fires in less than seven minutes. I'll give you five max to destroy it."

Natsu grinned at him. "No problem. Let's go Happy!"

He rushed forward and took a huge leap. Happy the flying cat caught him in midair and carried him toward the Phantom guild hall.

"Erza, Gray, Elfman!" The three came to attention as Naruto called their names. "You three are coming with me! We're going to help Natsu take that thing down from the inside!"

Gray smirked. "Sure. I can't let that hothead get all the fun."

"We've got your back." Erza assured him. The blond gave her a thankful smile.

"What about me? I want to help." A tear-streaked but determined Lucy pushed her way through the crowd to stand in front of Naruto.

Naruto placed his hands on the girl's shoulders and met her gaze. "Lucy, I need you to go somewhere safe for now. They obviously want you for some reason and we can't let that happen. Mira will take you someplace away from the battle."

The girl shook her head. "No! I want to fight beside you all! I don't want to just sit on the sidelines and watch you all risk your lives for me. I can't do that…"

Erza saw Naruto's eyes soften and a small smile crept up on his face. "Lucy, what's that on the back of your hand?"

"It's…it's the Fairytail symbol." Lucy answered a bit surprised by his question.

Naruto nodded. "That's right. We all have the bear the same symbol of the guild. It means that you're part of a family now, this family, and we will do everything we can to keep this family whole. This doesn't just concern you anymore Lucy, it concerns all of us. We all have to do our part to make sure that Phantom doesn't win this battle. All of us are going to show them the strength of our bonds and that messing with us was a huge mistake."

By the end of his speech, everyone was cheering. Erza was a little awed by his wisdom and knack for leadership. It was like seeing a different side of the fun-loving goofball she saw slurping up ramen in the guild. Yet, she somehow liked this side of him. He was showing who he really was: a kind and courageous man who would put his life on the line to protect the people he cared about.

"Alright…" Lucy whispered. She didn't like it, but she knew that he was just looking out for her. They all were.

"Come on, Lucy," Mira took her by the hand and began to lead her away. She called out to Naruto over her shoulder. "Do your best and come back safe."

The blonde nodded. Suddenly, a large group of shades began to shoot out from the massive structure. Dark hooded figures were flying toward them like a swarm. They had a few minutes before the creatures reached them.

"Cana, Loki, Macao, Wakaba, you four are in charge of defending the guild." Naruto ordered. "Make sure not to get overwhelmed and fall back if you have to."

"It sounds as if you don't think we can do it, Naruto." Cana said as she took out a few tarot cards. The brunette gave him a sexy smile and a wink. "I'll just have to prove you wrong and we can talk about it over a few drinks when this is all over."

Erza had to suppress a growl. For some reason, she didn't like the idea of Cana flirting with Naruto. She pushed those thoughts aside for now and focused on the task at hand.

"I'm counting on you guys." Naruto said. "Alzack and Bisca, you two will have a better vantage point on the roof. Those ghosts will be easy pickings then."

"You got it." Alzack said and the two of them headed back inside of the ruined guild hall to make their way to the top.

"Here they come." Gray muttered from beside Naruto.

The shades were only a few meters away now. The blonde stepped forward and created four shadow clones. The five of them wove through a fast set of hand signs and raised their fists. Simultaneously, they shouted. "Wind style: Hurricane Fist!"

A huge tornado of wind shot from their fists as they thrust it forward. The five cyclones combined into a massive swirling mass of wind that blasted through half of the shades. Some of the guild members were awed by the display, even Erza was impressed.

However, the dark creatures were already re-emerging and continuing their advance. The sounds of explosions could be heard from within the Jupiter cannon. Natsu was having a field day.

"We can't waste anymore time." Naruto said. "Gray, we need a way to get to Phantom's guild hall."

The boy nodded and brought his hands together. "Ice make: Floor!"

He slammed his hands on the ground and a thick layer of ice began to form a bridge leading to their destination. Naruto took the lead as the four of them began to run at full speed toward Phantom. Behind them, sounds of shouting and spells being cast could be heard. They knew that they shouldn't look back but focus on what their mission was in front of them as the huge guild hall drew closer.

The battle between Fairytail and Phantom Lord had begun.


	20. Chapter 20

**Author Note: Sorry this took so long. Wanted to fix the fight scene so it sounded less like Minato was who was fighting Jose...didn't work out, I hate to say, so please don't hold that against me.**

 **And to "The Critical One", if you think, as you put it in your guest reviews that you keep sending me that "this site is a cesspit of nothing more than a bunch if overrated, overused work with so little gems inside", and a "constant void of nothingness", and all that then why do you even go onto this site at all? Just leave everyone here alone.**

* * *

The members of Fairytail made their way down the hall as quick as they could. They needed to find a way to destroy or at least disable Phantom's mechanical guildhall before it can use some other weapon to unleash on them. Naruto could sense a lot more magical energy besides the Jupiter Cannon, so it was a safe bet that Jose still has something up his sleeve.

"Get ready guys, there's a large group waiting to ambush us at the next turn." Naruto informed his friends.

"How can you tell?" Gray asked.

"When I'm in sage mode, I can pinpoint other people's locations within a three mile radius." The blonde pointed at his eyes that were still yellow and toad-like. "It also has other uses that come in handy."

The other three couldn't help but be impressed. Being able to sense an enemy from long distances was a useful advantage. They couldn't help but wonder about what other things Naruto could do in this 'sage mode'.

"Gray, as soon as I let go, give them a greeting." The blonde instructed. He formed a single shadow clone that ran ahead of the group.

The raven-haired ice mage gave him a confused look. "What do you mean by—Gah!"

Gray didn't have any time to finish his question because Naruto grabbed his arm and started running horizontally along the wall. Naruto climbed higher until he almost reached the ceiling. The ice mage was hanging above the floor, being towed by the blonde.

The shadow clone made it to the corner turn. As soon as he was in plain sight, a barrage of spells was casted at the clone. The Phantom mages were surprised however, when their target disappeared in a puff of smoke. All of them shared a confused look. All the while, the real Naruto reached the corner by running on the wall. Gray instantly knew what the blonde meant when he saw the group of mages.

The blonde let go of the ice mage and the raven-haired teen brought his hands together. As soon as he landed, Gray shouted. "Ice Make: Hammer!"

A huge war hammer made entirely of ice appeared and launched itself at the enemy. The mages didn't stand a chance. The ice hammer plowed through them easily.

Naruto landed next to him when Erza and Elfman caught up.

The blonde whistled. "Nice one, Gray."

"We should keep moving." Erza said. The four of them continued for a short distance when Naruto halted. The sound of a huge explosion reached them.

"What was that?" Elfman asked.

Naruto frowned. "The Jupiter Cannon has been destroyed."

"That's good news for us, isn't it?"

As soon as the words left Elfman's mouth, the entire building began to rumble and shake. They all braced themselves against the wall to support themselves as the floor shifted. It didn't exactly feel like an earthquake in Naruto's opinion. It was like the entire guild hall was…changing.

The rumbling stopped after a few minutes. Naruto went over to the nearest window to see the Fairytail guildhall and the rest of their friends fighting off a swarm of shades.

 _'Strange, I could've sworn that this window was facing the sea a while ago…'_

Suddenly, Jose's magically enhanced voice blared. "Say goodbye, Fairytail trash!"

* * *

Meanwhile, in the midst of the battle with the shades, a transformed Mira could do nothing except watch wide eyed in fear as she saw the magic circle the giant was drawing. If what she was seeing was real, then they were doomed unless the members who infiltrated Phantom acted quickly. Phantom Lord was going to wipe out the whole city of Magnolia if they weren't stopped.

She really felt useless at times like these. Right now, the best she could do was to hopefully buy more time by transforming into Lucy. All of her friends and even her brother were fighting for their home. Mira on the other hand would only be a burden.

The waitress sighed. There was a time when she was one of the most fierce and amazing fighters in the guild. That was when she had powers that could rival Erza's. She was an S-class wizard and other mages even gave her a nickname: The Demon.

"Mira," She was snapped out of her thoughts by Cana's voice.

"How are you holding up?" Cana asked.

The waitress couldn't help but smile. "I should be asking you the same question. I'm not doing any of the fighting after all."

"I know. That's why I wanted to make sure you weren't sulking." Cana said. "Just because you're not fighting doesn't mean you're doing any less than us."

Mira stood silent for a while, but she eventually nodded in agreement. "Thanks Cana. I needed that."

The busty brunette smiled at her. "Don't mention it. So, do you have any ideas on how to deal with that thing?" She pointed at the giant robot-like guild hall that was about to cast Abyss Break.

"No, I don't even know what's powering it." Mira frowned. "A spell of that magnitude would need a lot of magical energy."

"I guess it's up to the guys inside, huh?" Cana said.

The waitress nodded. "If anyone can do it, _he_ can."

 _Mir_ _a exited the medical wing along with everyone else when she resumed her usual task of putting away the beer mugs and glasses for the night. While she did this, her mind kept wandering back to Team Shadow Gear. It was awful to think that this happened to her friends. Jet and Droy were both nice people. She couldn't understand why Phantom wanted to go so far as this. Levy must be devastated._

 _When she was done putting everything away, she realized that the light was still on in the medical ward. She stopped just outside the door when she heard voices. She peaked through a small opening in the doorframe and saw Master Makarov and Naruto talking._

" _I don't know what Jose might be thinking." Makarov was saying. "I can tell you this, he has something planned and I doubt that it will end well for us."_

 _Mira saw Naruto stand from the bed. "In that case, I'm going with you guys. I'll help-,"_

" _No." Makarov cut him off. "I and the others will be enough. I have a bad feeling about what is to transpire and that is why I need you here. Laxus and two of our other S-class mages are currently out on missions. I can't count on them for assistance. I need someone I can depend on to look after the few guild members that will not take part in the battle. Naruto, I've only known you for a short time but I can tell that you are a strong and trustworthy person. I'm placing the guild in your hands while I'm gone, understood?"_

 _Naruto was speechless for a moment. Mira herself had to cover her mouth with one of her hands in slight surprise. She tried to process everything she just heard. Master Makarov was entrusting the safety of the guild to a man who only joined a few weeks ago? It was more than a little startling._

" _You can count on me." The blonde finally said. He sounded determined._

 _Master Makarov released a small relieved sigh. "Thank you. Now, I think you should rest. Fighting a dragon slayer must be tiring."_

 _Naruto nodded and made himself comfortable on one of the beds next to Jet. "Do your best, gramps. Show 'em who's boss."_

 _With that being said, the young man's eyelids fell and his breathing slowed. In just a few moments, Naruto's soft snores could be heard. Mira had to suppress a giggle. She thought that it was kind of cute._

" _Mira, I know you're out there. Come on in." Makarov called._

 _The white-haired waitress did as she was told. "Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop."_

 _The old man just smiled at her kindly. "It's alright."_

 _The two of them sat in companionable silence. The only sound that filled the room as of this moment was Naruto's snoring. Still, something the master said worried her._

" _Master, if what you said earlier is true, maybe you and the others shouldn't go." Mira said. "It might just be a trap."_

 _Makarov replied with a hard but sincere voice. "If I don't go, then how can I call myself a parent who is supposed to protect my children? How can I call myself a guild master if I do not seek justice for the crimes committed against my guild? I must go and end this once and for all."_

" _But…what if…" Mira bit her lower lip. She couldn't bear to think of what might happen._

 _The master patted her knees reassuringly. "I promise that everyone will come back safe and sound. Besides, I'm not worried. Even if I'm not here, I am at ease because someone like him is able to fill in for me."_

 _He gestured toward the sleeping Naruto._

" _Don't get me wrong, Master. Naruto's strong but surely not as strong as you right?" Mira asked. It wasn't because she doubted the blonde. Master Makarov was always the one who led them. He was the guild's rally point. He was their beacon that gave them the strength to be able to carry on. No one could just easily replace his role to them._

 _The old man was pensive for a moment before answering. "I honestly can't say. His past is a mystery but I can tell that he has suffered, maybe more than anyone. There is sadness within him that is hidden beneath that smile. However there is also kindness and courage that is unrivaled. I can't really explain it but, Naruto has a greater power than any magic spell."_

 _They both watched in amusement as the blonde mumbled dreamily in his sleep. "Another bowl of ramen please,"_

 _Mira giggled. She couldn't help it. He was just so adorable when he sleeps. He had a goofy smile on his face. She was assuming that he was having one heck of a dream._

 _Naruto was really strange, but in a good way. He's so clueless sometimes and sort of spaces out when you talk about complicated stuff. He was also fun to hang out with and was very sociable. Then, she caught a glimpse of another side of him when he fought Natsu. The way he moved and assaulted the pink-haired teen was precise and controlled. Every attack was planned to drive the dragon slayer into submission._

 _His eyes were the most shocking. Those sky blue orbs were usually so bright and warm. However, in battle, they were fierce and calculating. Those eyes belonged to a battle-hardened warrior. They belonged to a man who has seen war and the horrors that came with it._

" _Yes, I think so too." Mira said after a while._

Now, in the midst of battle, she had already placed the outcome of the battle entirely in Naruto's hands. In fact, she thought that everyone had done the same. They all followed his lead without question. Maybe some of them hadn't realized it yet, but Mira could tell just by looking at the determined faces of the Fairytail wizards.

Every one of them had placed their trust in Naruto. Now she had to do her part as well and buy her friends who were fighting inside a little more time.

* * *

Jose sat in the center of the control room watching a lacrima showing the five members of Fairytail race through the corridors of the guild hall. Naruto and the others managed to regroup with Natsu while searching for a way to stop the forbidden spell. The battle of the mages down below meant little to him. His small army of shades should be more than enough to eradicate those pests. The Abyss Break would be ready in thirty minutes so he wasn't in much of a hurry.

He had already sent Gajeel to fetch the real Heartfilia heiress. It really was amusing how that white-haired waitress thought she could fool him with such a pathetic transformation. He had also sent the rest of his Element Four to dispatch of those Fairytail wizards who managed to sneak inside the fortress. His victory was assured.

 _'It won't be long now before Makarov's precious guild will be crushed.'_ Jose thought.

However, there was a particular mage he was indeed interested in. The lacrima showed Naruto leading the group of Fairytail mages as they rounded another corner. The young man's face showed no hesitation or doubt while navigating his team through Phantom's guild hall. It was almost as if the young blonde knew exactly where everything was and which path to take.

"Sir," One of his subordinates called his attention. "We have received word that Gajeel was successful in retrieving Lucy Heartfilia. He and his team are heading back as we speak."

A sinister smile pulled at Jose's face. "Excellent. I think it's time for me to properly welcome our guests."

* * *

The group of Fairytail wizards came face to face with forty of Phantom's mages as soon as they turned left. However, they weren't fazed because Naruto sensed them earlier and informed his friends. Erza summoned a lance and ran ahead of them. She swept the mages aside with a battle cry and reduced the enemies' numbers in half.

"Beast Arm: Iron Bull!" Elfman's right arm morphed.

Naruto grabbed his other hand and hurled him toward the enemy like a meteor. Elfman had his arm raised above him as he sailed through the air. The mages toppled like bowling pins, a perfect strike.

"Argh, I didn't get to do anything at all!" Natsu complained. "Hey Naruto, I want to kick some ass, too!"

"Now is not the time for your antics, Natsu!" Erza scolded.

"She's right, let's keep moving." Gray said.

The four of them found Elfman embedded in a wall at the far end of the corridor. The man had spirals for eyes and stars twinkling around his head.

"Whoops, I guess I threw him too hard." Naruto mumbled. It took a moment for the big guy to come to his senses. He shook off his dizziness.

The Beast Take-Over mage grunted. "Next time, I throw you."

The blonde chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry about that..."

The five of them were about to continue when Naruto halted. He had a frown on his face as he sensed two familiar energy signatures that just entered Phantom's base. Damn, not just Lucy, but Mira too? This wasn't look good!

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Erza asked.

The blonde's scowl deepened. "They've got Lucy."

"What?!" Natsu blurted out. "No way, I have to save her!"

"Calm down, I'm not finished." Naruto ordered. "They've got Mira as well. Now I know that we have to hurry if we're going to save them and everybody else, but just listen for a moment. I think I know how to stop the Abyss Break."

That caught their attention as they waited for him to continue. "A spell of that magnitude would require a large amount of magical energy, right? Thanks to my sage mode, I've picked up the location of what's powering it. Actually, it's not what, but who. The three mages supplying the magic for the Abyss Break are none other than the remaining members of the Element Four."

"Which means…all we have to do now is to defeat them," Erza said. Naruto nodded.

"What about Lucy?!" Natsu demanded.

The blonde sighed. "Relax, I haven't forgotten about her. She's at the top floor of the building with Gajeel and a few of his lackeys. We need to split up. It's up to you to save Lucy, Natsu. You three will have to take on the rest of the Element four to stop the Abyss Break."

"Alright, I'm coming for you Gajeel!" Natsu shouted. Flames engulfed the pink-haired teen before he shot upward, burning a hole through the ceiling and kept climbing. Naruto assumed he was going to keep going until he reached the top level. He couldn't help but chuckle at the dragon slayer's brashness.

Although she already knew his answer, Erza couldn't help but ask. "What about you?"

Naruto's face was blank and unreadable. "Jose's mine."

The other two looked at him like he was crazy.

"Are you nuts? There's no way you can take him on alone!" Gray protested.

"Yeah, no offense, Naruto, you're strong but he's a wizard saint, one of the ten strongest wizards in Fiore." Elfman informed him. "His powers are on par with the master's. I don't think you can win this battle."

Erza placed a comforting hand on his arm. "What they meant to say was, maybe you shouldn't face him by yourself."

"I'll be fine." He assured them and gave a small smile. "Trust me."

The three exchanged worried glances. They all knew how powerful the wizard saints were. Master Makarov was an example of one and he was the best in the guild. It was too risky to send him off to face Jose alone.

It took a few moments but it was Erza who spoke up. "Alright Naruto, we'll leave Jose to you."

Gray and Elfman stared at her incredulously, but it appeared that the matter was already settled.

"Okay, since we all know what to do, let's get moving." Naruto said. "The sooner we end this, the better."

The four of them sprinted down the hall but stopped when they reached an intersection. The corridor split three different directions. Naruto thought for a moment before pointing to the path on the right. "Gray, go that way and Elfman will take the other. It will lead you straight to Mira. Erza and I will take the center."

The two of them nodded before they all sprinted down their selected paths. Not long afterward, the corridor split into two opposite directions again.

"Erza-chan, take the left one. I'll go this way." Naruto said.

Before he turned to leave however, a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around him and a wonderful smell filled his nose. Something soft lightly brushed his cheeks. He blushed as he realized that it was Erza's lips.

"Be careful." Erza whispered before letting go. She ran down the opposite direction and disappeared before he could even react. The blonde stood stunned there for a moment, just staring at the empty hall where Erza took off. He absently touched the part of his face where Erza had kissed him. His face felt hot. Her lips were so soft…

He shook his head as he remembered the task at hand. He could think about that later. Right now he had more urgent matters to deal with. Jose was probably waiting for him at the end of this corridor. Now if he could just get his face to cool off...

* * *

Erza had a faint blush on her cheeks as she ran down the hall. She didn't know what came over her or where the courage to just kiss him on the cheek came from. Maybe it was just a heat of the moment thing? The redhead wasn't sure...

Unfortunately, her thoughts concerning a certain blonde had to wait. They had a mission to accomplish and she couldn't afford to get distracted. Her friends were counting on her. She must stop the Abyss Break before it activated.

She slowed her pace when the corridor widened into a spacious room. She scanned the area to see if there was another way, but found none. Then, she felt a presence behind her and she spun around while summoning one of her swords.

"It looks like you are my opponent today. It's so sad." Aria of the Element four said as he floated a few feet off the ground.

Erza gripped her sword and a white glow began to envelope her body. "I know it was you who drained the master of his magic. Now I'll gladly return the favor!"

* * *

"Stop it! Cut it out!" Elfman shouted. He was surrounded by statue duplicates of his little sister Lisanna that were conjured by Sol. They all looked at him with anger and their words cut deep into him.

"Big brother, why did you do it?" All of them spoke in unison. They all looked so betrayed. "I only wanted to help you!"

Elfman crumpled to his knees. "Lisanna…I…didn't mean…"

He heard someone clicking his tongue and Sol suddenly sprouted from the ground. "Now now, what are you saying monsieur Elfman? We all know that it was your fault for doing this to poor Lisanna."

His voice had a thick French accent and he grinned evilly at the Fairytail mage who was on his knees.

"We all know that it was you…who killed her!"

At those words, Elfman was assaulted by grief once more. It was true. He was the one who attempted to try something he wasn't ready for. He was the one who was supposed to protect his sisters. Instead, he did the opposite and caused them pain. Lisanna experienced the full force of his poor choices.

He killed her. There was no denying it. He buried his face into his hands and sobbed.

* * *

 _'That's weird. Where did this rain come from?'_ Gray had found his way onto the roof and noticed the heavy downpour. The skies were suddenly filled with dark rain clouds. Thunder boomed overhead as he kept on walking. He scanned his surroundings, making sure no one would be able to surprise him.

"Drip, drip, drop," A feminine voice spoke and Gray whirled around to face the woman.

She was cute in a way. Her long blue hair was styled to end in curls on either side of her face. It suited her. She held an umbrella to keep her from getting soaked by the rain.

"Juvia regrets to inform you that Juvia will be your opponent today." She said.

Gray replied. "Fine but don't expect me to hold back on you just because you're a girl."

What he did next caught Juvia totally off guard. He stripped off his polo shirt and threw it aside to reveal his lean and muscular upper body. Gray frowned in confusion as he saw the woman blushed tomato red.

* * *

"GAJEEL!" Natsu roared. He burst through the floor and head-butted Phantom's dragon slayer under his chin. Natsu's body was ablaze.

Gajeel stumbled backward a few steps before glaring at the teen.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried out in relief.

"I'm gonna burn you into a crisp pal!" Natsu said. He set his right hand on fire and launched himself at the Iron dragon slayer.

The Phantom mage just grinned. "Bring it!"

* * *

Naruto pushed open a large set of double doors leading into a giant room. It was wide and spacious, but it was empty aside from the huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling and a long carpet leading to a wide staircase at the other end of the room. If he had to guess, he would say that this was the room where someone could throw a huge party for kings and queens.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and stood absolutely still. Sage mode had worn off a few minutes ago and now he needed to replenish the Nature energy he lost. Only thirty seconds passed before he felt Sage mode reactivate. He still couldn't help but grin at the fact that he could easily gather Nature energy faster now. He subconsciously remembered that entering this mode was more of a pain in the ass in the past.

Naruto was able to sense the battles taking place around him. Erza was two floors below him battling with one of Phantom's Element four. Elfman felt angry for some reason and his energy was comparable to a wild beast as of the moment. He could also sense Mira near Elfman's position. Gray was on the roof squaring off with another Phantom mage. Everyone else battling the shades down below is holding on, but only just. The relentless onslaught of shades was taking its toll on them. They were running out of energy and time.

He didn't need sage mode to sense what Natsu was doing. Naruto could feel the ceiling shake as the pink-haired teen exchanged blows with Gajeel. Lucy was up there as well along with a few other mages. If they were smart, they would steer clear from a battle between two dragon slayers.

Suddenly, he sensed a very dark and foul energy nearby.

"Welcome, young Naruto." The blonde opened his eyes to find himself standing face to face with Phantom Lord's guild master. Jose Porla, one of the ten wizard saints.

"I hope you don't mind the lack of commodities." Jose said as he casually made his way down the stairs with his hands behind his back. "If I'd known that I would be having guests, then I would have prepared a much more suitable welcome."

Naruto said nothing as he stared at the man with an impassive expression. Jose raised an eyebrow at this and chuckled.

"You know, it's rude not to reply to people who are talking to you." Jose said. His expression suddenly turned dark. "You need to be taught a lesson boy!"

 _'Dad...looks like I might need to barrow some power...'_ The blonde thought, before Naruto threw a kunai at Jose in one fluid motion. However, the man caught the weapon easily in between his fingers before it could nail him on the head. He examined the tri-pronged kunai with strange markings before looking back at Naruto.

Jose sighed. "Honestly, did you really think that a little knife like this would-?"

Whatever he was about to say was cut off as Naruto's fist crashed into his face and sent him flying into a wall. Pain flared on the spot where the punch connected and his back where he impacted the wall. Jose shook off his momentary daze and glared at the blonde who picked up his knife on the floor.

 _'Damn brat! I didn't even see him move! Plus, his strength is remarkable...!'_

"You talk too much." Naruto said. The blonde got into a fighting stance with his tri-pronged kunai raised in front of him. "I have nothing else to say to you so I suggest you save your taunts because I'm not in the mood to play games."

Jose grinned evilly. "Very well, then. I shall make you suffer for your insolence boy."

He stretched out his hand in front of him and a magic circle appeared. "Death Wave!"

A powerful blast of dark energy shot toward Naruto. The blonde quickly sidestepped as the attack passed him and created a hole in the wall. However, he didn't even have time to think of a counter attack as Jose suddenly appeared in front of him with his fist cocked back. Naruto blocked the punch with his forearm and followed up with a roundhouse kick of his own.

Jose caught his leg with his other hand and gripped it tightly. Before the man could throw him over his shoulder, Naruto flicked his wrist, throwing the kunai a few inches in the air and broke free by using the Hiraishin to teleport to the weapon. Naruto caught the kunai in midair and used it to take a swipe at Jose.

Unfortunately, the man stepped backward and leaned away from the weapon, just in the nick of time. A few more millimeters and he would've been decapitated. A furious shout escaped his throat as he encased his fist in his shade magic.

Naruto already had a Rasengan swirling in his hand and thrust it forward to meet Jose's attack. The two collided and unleashed a huge shockwave that shook the floor. The two of them fought for dominance as they pushed forward with all of their might. Suddenly, their attacks released a huge amount of energy that blasted them both backward.

The two of them skidded to a halt a few feet in front of each other.

"Not bad for a youngster." Jose admitted grudgingly. "I was right. You are certainly impressive and your skills are unique. Damn that Makarov! Where does he find you mages?"

Naruto summoned a clone next to him. "What are you talking about?"

"Ever since I could remember, our two guilds have always competed for the top." Jose explained angrily. "Lately though, _Fairytail_ has been gaining a lot of attention." He spat out the guild's name with disgust.

He began to pace in which Naruto and his clone followed. They circled each other as they prepared for their next attack. The blonde's eyes never left Jose as he prepared himself to launch into action at a moment's notice. But apparently, the man was too busy ranting.

"Names like Laxus, Mystogan, and Titania have begun making themselves known." Jose growled. "Rumors about a man called Salamander also began to spread throughout the land like wildfire. Even YOU are already making a name for yourself despite the fact that you only joined recently!"

Naruto decided to keep the man talking as he discreetly pulled out another tri pronged kunai from his pouch.

"What do you mean?" The blonde feigned curiosity.

Jose glared at him and pointed an accusatory finger. "Don't play coy with me brat! The guild masters in Clover caught sight of a blonde man who defeated the demon Lullaby alongside some Fairytail mages. Also, reports from the town of Lupinus say that a man named Maelstrom defeated three powerful dark wizards as well as a demon."

"Well, I do aim to please." Naruto grinned. Jose's anger soared into new heights as he saw this.

 _'Good. The angrier you become, the easier it'll be for me to take you down old man...'_

Dark purple magic encased Jose's fists and the guild master roared. "PHANTOM LORD IS THE MOST POWERFUL GUILD! WE HAVE THE STRONGEST MAGES AND SPELLS! YOU PESTS ARE NOTHING COMPARED TO US!"

 _'Now's my chance!'_

Naruto's clone detonated a smoke bomb that obscured Jose's view.

The guild master's eyes narrowed and prepared his self for the incoming attack. A tri-pronged kunai shot toward him from the cloud and Jose easily dodged it by moving his head to the right. The weapon embedded itself on the wall behind him.

Then, Jose saw Naruto burst through the cloud of smoke with a Rasengan in his hand heading straight for him. The blonde closed the gap in the blink of an eye and thrust the glowing sphere forward. Jose caught the blonde's wrist and redirected the attack for it to miss. The guild master plunged his magic encased fist deep into the blonde's gut.

Jose snarled when the blonde disappeared in a puff of smoke. He dodged just in the nick of time as a powerful gust of wind blew past him. The gust was like a torrent of tiny little razor blades and he still received a few cuts barely avoiding the attack. Jose glared at the blonde who stood calmly a few feet away.

The guild master saw Naruto weave another set of hand signs but before he could finish, Jose raised his hand and yelled, "Death Pulse!"

A powerful burst of purple magic shook the room like an earthquake with Jose as the epicenter. Naruto saw the attack coming but couldn't find a way to avoid it due to its wide range. He instinctively raised his arms in front of him, but the spell still sent him sailing through the air. As soon as he hit the wall, the blonde's eyes widened when he saw Jose standing so close to him with his hand outstretched a few inches away from his face.

Jose grinned triumphantly, "Death Wave!"

 _'Crap!'_

The guild master's spell destroyed the wall entirely. The structure crumbled away, creating a huge hole that opened a view of the raging battle between his shades and the Fairytail mages. A pitiful sight really. The wizards were giving it their final effort even though they were heavily outnumbered. It was only a matter of time before they all dropped from exhaustion or magic depletion.

Jose just chuckled. He didn't give a damn either way.

He peered over the edge of the collapsed wall and down into the sea where chunks of the wall had fallen. He scanned the surrounding waters to see if he could spot the body of Naruto floating lifelessly. He frowned when he couldn't spot him.

Jose took several steps away from the edge when he heard a sound behind him.

Fortunately for him, he turned and narrowly avoided Naruto's kunai thrust. The wizard saint grabbed the blonde's wrist and delivered a powerful elbow onto the side of his head. The clone puffed out of existence and Jose growled.

His head swiveled from side to side, but he couldn't find a trace of the boy. He tensed when he heard a sharp whirling sound. However, he never saw it coming until it was too late.

"Take this old man! Wind Style: Rasengan!"

Naruto drove the attack down onto the unsuspecting guild master's back from above. The sheer power behind the attack was enough to bring the man to the ground as he cried out in agony and disbelief. The floor shook and a crater formed. The Fairytail member tapped the guild master's shoulder twice before leaping away.

 _As the magic circle appeared before him, Naruto knew that he had to act fast. Fortunately, he was able to use the hiraishin at the last second as the destructive spell was an inch from his face. He found himself next to the kunai he threw earlier that was embedded in the wall…_

He landed in a crouch a few feet away to catch his breath. He had exceeded the time limit for sage mode. It wasn't a big issue. Naruto could gather nature energy quicker than he used to and he had already started replenishing his supply. Then he could finish this once and for all.

The blonde was a few seconds away from reentering sage mode when the nature energy suddenly stopped flowing. Instead, he could feel a dark and malevolent energy skyrocket and it began to fill the room. It was so potent that it even made it uncomfortable to breath. Naruto turned toward the source emerging from some rubble.

Jose rose from the crater and he looked downright murderous. His eyes had turned black and a dark purple aura began to envelope him. His shirt was in tatters thanks to Naruto's last attack. He glared at the blonde with so much hate.

"Makarov is the only one who could push me this far." He informed the blonde. His voice was low and menacing. "To think that a mere youth could cause me so much distress….I was going to kill you quickly, but now…you are going to suffer first and you will die a slow and painful death."

Naruto cursed silently as he could feel Jose's magic energy rising. He could tell that he was the reason why he couldn't gather nature energy. This foul magic emanating from the guild master was coming off in waves and it was interfering with his ability to go into sage mode. The blonde drew a tri pronged kunai from his holster and presumed a fighting stance.

"Now…" Jose gave a maniacal grin.

The Uzumaki's eyes widened when the wizard saint vanished in the blink of an eye.

A cold chill ran down his spine when a voice behind him spoke. "…shall we begin?"

* * *

Under different circumstances, Alzack would have loved to spend some alone time with Bisca on the rooftop. Unfortunately for them, this wasn't one of those romantic moments. Well, unless you count blasting an entire army of shades as a date then they were having a great time.

Down below them, Fairytail was giving their all into one final push that will hopefully drive the army of shades back. Cana shouted words of encouragement to rally the guild members. They all launched their best and powerful spells at the swarm of shades. They managed to take out three fourths of the ghosts numbers.

Fairytail cheered as the remaining creatures were beginning to fall back.

"Yeah, that'll show them!" Macao grinned.

"Wait!" Cana shouted out in warning. She frowned as the shades once more grew in numbers and began to merge with each other. They fused into a giant dark orb with numerous tentacle arms. "It's not over yet. Get ready!"

She could feel the toll this battle was taking on them. They were exhausted and running low on magic. The brunette clenched her fists tightly and drew out more of her tarot cards. She couldn't afford to let their spirits waver now.

"We need to keep fighting!" She shouted. "Our friends inside are doing all that they can to stop the Abyss Break. We can't let them down!"

The rest of them were a little hesitant but Wakaba decided to step in. "Come on guys. Are you going to let a girl upstage you?"

That seemed to do the trick as the guild members prepared themselves. If Wakaba could still joke around at a time like this then there was still hope. Although the man was sweating profusely by the look Cana was sending him. A look that said: _Are you saying just because I'm a girl that I'm not strong?"_

Hopefully she'll forget about it when this whole thing blows over.

* * *

Naruto was able to dodge another one of Jose's death beams but he failed to block the punch to his left side as the man suddenly appeared in front of him. He was too fast and without sage mode, the blonde was at a huge disadvantage. Pain flared through his torso as he felt the fist connect and broke a few ribs.

The younger man slammed into a wall and Jose pinned him to it by grabbing his throat. Naruto gasped as his breathing became labored and he couldn't get enough oxygen. The blonde struggled against the iron grip but it was futile.

"I see that your eyes have reverted back to normal." Jose noted. He grinned. "I guess that explains how your physical abilities were enhanced. But it looks like you can't maintain it forever, can you?"

As a reply, Naruto substituted himself with a large rock to break free from being choked. He leapt away just in the nick of time to avoid being blasted by one of Jose's spells. However, the man was quick to follow up with a magic encased fist intending to uppercut him.

The blonde quickly threw a hiraishin kunai somewhere to the left and teleported next to it, catching the weapon by the handle.

Suddenly, he felt something wrapping around his arms and torso. The next thing he knew was that he was lifted off of his feet by a dark giant skeleton that emanated purple magic. He grunted in pain as the shade tightened its hold on him. Naruto saw Jose below him grinning triumphantly.

"That little teleporting trick of yours is quite bothersome." Jose said. "As long as you don't have any of your little knives scattered around, you're not going anywhere."

Naruto quickly tried to think of a way out of this mess. He could use the substitution jutsu again but it was a lot slower than the Flying Thunder god jutsu and Jose already knew how to counter attack it. He needed to come up with something fast.

He suddenly heard the guild master chuckling. "Ah, there we go. It seems that you lose young Uzumaki."

Naruto followed his gaze and his eyes widened. A huge creature with many tentacles like arms was relentlessly pounding the ruined guild hall into rubble. He could see most of the guild members standing there with tear stricken faces as they helplessly watched the monster destroy their home. They were utterly exhausted and defeated.

"You fucking bastard!" The blonde snarled. His vision started to turn red. Jose didn't seem to notice.

Anger and rage began to flood his thoughts as the Kyuubi's chakra began to flow into him. Newfound strength and bloodlust seemed to empower him. His sights were directed at the smug looking guild master and he wanted to rip him apart.

However, he ceased the flow of the red chakra and took a deep breath to calm himself. He remembered the last time he almost lost control and he couldn't take that risk. Being so close to the guild hall, he might hurt his friends. Naruto wouldn't be able to forgive himself if they got injured by him.

As the guild hall crumbled into debris, Jose turned his attention back to Naruto. "Well that was satisfying to witness. Now, where was I? Oh yes, that's right."

Naruto shouted in agony as the shade holding him began to unleash tendrils of purple magic that seemed to electrocute him. After a minute the pain stopped, leaving the blonde rasping. Then, the excruciating pain intensified as Jose pumped more magic into his spell.

He needed to end this now. It was time to unleash his two trump cards.

* * *

Gray was inwardly berating himself as he ran down the corridor of Phantom's guild hall, carrying an unconscious Juvia on his shoulder. She had just sort of passed out in the middle of their fight, if you could even call it that, with a dreamy look on her face. He blushed when he remembered that awkward moment when he managed to trap her in ice and his hand had accidentally landed on her breast.

Thankfully, nobody else was there to witness that. He was already labeled a stripper at the guild because of his habits. He didn't want anybody to think he was a pervert as well.

He sighed as he rounded a corner and glanced at the unconscious girl. She didn't seem that bad for a Phantom Lord member. Maybe she was just doing her job even though she didn't like it. Well, either way, he wasn't just about to leave her there knowing that this whole place might collapse at any second thanks to Natsu.

The ceiling shook once more and Gray knew that the pink-haired idiot was probably hamming it up with the other dragon slayer.

"Gray!" Someone called out from behind him. He turned around to see Erza in her Black Wing armor along with Elfman and Mira running toward him.

"Who's that?" Elfman asked and pointed at Juvia.

"I'll explain later." Gray said. "Does this mean that Abyss Break has stopped?"

Erza nodded. "It seems like it."

Then the ceiling shook once again and this time, pieces of debris began falling from it.

"That's our cue to leave." Gray said. "This place isn't going to hold much longer if Natsu keeps going like this."

"What about Naruto?" Mira asked worriedly. "Maybe we should look for him."

Erza shook her head. "It's too dangerous. If he's still battling Jose then we might just be a burden for him and get caught in the crossfire. He'll be fine."

As the red head lead them down a hallway, she wished that she could be fighting beside him right now. Erza would feel much better if she were. Knowing that he was facing an opponent who is just as powerful as Master Makarov filled her with worry. She didn't want to see him get injured or worse.

Berating herself for doubting the blonde, she pushed those thoughts aside. Somehow, she just knew Naruto would be alright. The thought of his easygoing smile was enough to set her mind at ease and strangely, it made her feel like her heart was doing little tap dances. It was a nice and warm feeling that she couldn't explain but she only experienced it whenever she was around Naruto.

Erza will investigate what she was feeling later. Right now they needed to get out of Phantom's guild hall before it collapsed on itself.


	21. Chapter 21

Cana was not having a good day. Usually, this would be the time she would be chugging down some of her favorite alcohol by the barrels. She really needed a drink right now, but first she needed to make sure that giant dark blob monster pounding their guild hall to ruins didn't hurt anyone.

Everyone gathered there could do nothing as they watched their home getting pulverized. Tears were running down a lot of faces. Macao and Wakaba were clenching their fists so tight that they shook. Cana felt her insides turn cold as another tentacle slammed into the side of the structure.

The brunette scanned the weary and defeated faces of her friends. She had to pull them together.

"Everybody listen up!" Cana shouted. "This isn't the end. We can't let it end here! Our friends inside fought with everything they've got to stop the Abyss Break. I don't know about you, but I want to welcome them back without adding more problems for them. We are not the kind to give up so easily because we are FAIRYTAIL!"

The guild members were rallied by her words. The busty woman let out a sigh of relief. Everyone seemed to be more determined than ever. Who knew that taking charge would be this hard? She would be having a few words with Naruto for making her some kind of on the spot leader. Hopefully over a drink, because she couldn't deny the fact that the blonde was _very_ handsome. Well, she would have to think about that when this monster was defeated.

By this time, the monster has finished destroying the guild hall. Now it searched for new targets, more specifically, a group of Fairytail mages.

"Everyone, focus your attack on a single point." Macao ordered. "If we all combine our magic then it should have an effect on the thing."

They all nodded. It was worth a shot. They all had enough magic for one more spell. Although, Cana knew that if this didn't work, then nothing else will.

"Do it now!"

Cana fired her last tarot cards. Macao blasted the biggest purple flame he could muster. Wakaba blew a stream of smoke towards the creature. Alzack and Bisca fired their remaining shots and everybody did the same. They all sent their magic spells at a single spot on the monster.

An explosion obscured their view for a minute as it picked up a lot of dust. Everyone was silent.

"Is it over?" Alzack asked. As soon as the words left his mouth a dark tentacle came out of nowhere and sent him flying.

"Alzack!" Bisca called out as she saw him get taken out. She turned to help him but another tentacle slammed into her as well.

The dust was beginning to clear and they saw that the monster was barely fazed. Cana cursed silently and called out to everyone to fall back. They were powerless now. Without magic, they didn't stand a chance. A lone tear slid down her cheek as she thought, 'S _omeone please help…'_

All of the tentacles rushed toward them. Suddenly, a large magic circle appeared just in the nick of time to block the attack.

"You will not harm my children!" Makarov roared. He was levitating on top of the rubble that used to be the guild hall. The members of Fairytail cheered.

The master held up his two hands and two magic circles appeared on either side of the dark monster.

"Begone, you foul creature!" Makarov brought his hands together and a sudden flare of bright light illuminated the area. The giant thing wailed as it began to fade away into nothing.

* * *

Erza panted as she and the others finally made it back to shore. Although it was a little ways from where the rest of the guild is since they had to use another route to escape. The ice path which Gray made for them to cross the water was slowly beginning to melt.

"Look!" Mira pointed toward the place where everyone else was. They turned just in time to see Master Makarov arriving at the scene and destroying the giant creature that was terrorizing their guild members.

"The master is a real man!" Elfman cheered.

"Thank goodness..." Mira said. Gray just had a small smile on his face. He had gently set Juvia on the ground for a while.

Then they heard the flapping of wings and a familiar voice calling out to them. Happy the flying cat suddenly crash landed in front of them with Lucy. The blonde girl groaned. She stood while rubbing her bottom.

"Happy, next time you should work on your landing skills." Lucy told the cat.

The blue cat scratched the back of his head. "Sorry Lucy, you were so heavy."

"I am NOT heavy, you stupid cat!" Before Lucy could throttle the furball, she was wrapped in a tight hug by Mira.

"We're so glad that you're safe." Mira said.

Lucy nodded gratefully. "It was all thanks to Natsu."

"Speaking of which, where is that moron?" Gray asked.

Erza, on the other hand, was not really listening as the girl explained Natsu's current whereabouts. She was glad that Lucy was safe and master Makarov was back. The Abyss Break had been cancelled due to the defeat of the element four. From the looks of things Natsu had already defeated Gajeel and was just exhausted by Lucy's account.

The redhead was staring at Phantom's guild hall, thinking of another blonde person in particular. Naruto had yet to finish his battle with Jose.

 _'Naruto, please be all right….'_

* * *

He had begun to lose count of how many times the man had been torturing him with that damn spell of his. Jose was really pissing him off. He wanted to wipe the floor with that smug grin of his, but he knew that he had to be patient. Naruto just needed the right moment to spring his aces in the hole.

"Hmm, this is getting rather boring." Jose said. "After hearing your agonizing screams for a while now it's starting to blend together."

Naruto didn't respond as his eyes darted around the room looking for something he could use to distract him. He heard a commotion by the shore and He couldn't help but grin. "Looks like the cavalry has arrived."

Jose followed his gaze and what he saw contorted his face into an ugly scowl. Through the gaping hole left in the wall due to their battle, they were able to witness Makarov vanquishing the giant shade monster that had been terrorizing his guild mates earlier. The blonde couldn't help but chuckle in spite of himself. The action caused Jose to turn his murderous gaze back onto him.

"You lose, old man." Naruto said. He then substituted himself with a nearby piece of rubble.

Jose found him immediately and blasted him with a powerful spell that would have obliterated the blonde. It barely missed him thanks to his quick reflexes. He managed to roll away just in the nick of time. Naruto instantly got back up on his feet and ran toward the edge of the crumbled wall. He had an idea.

The foul energy emanating off of Jose was interfering with his ability to enter sage mode. Luckily, he had left a clone on standby in the forest where he was training. He couldn't dispel it from here and he won't be able to summon his clone gathering Nature Energy under these circumstances. Jose would attack before he could even finish the hand signs. He needed to buy himself some time.

A few seconds should be enough for what he planned to do…..

Jose moved to intercept him. "You're not going anywhere boy!"

At this pace, the guild master would cut him off before he could take another step toward the edge. He quickly summoned a clone behind him. His double planted his feet on his back and pushed off with all its might. Naruto launched forward, narrowly evading Jose's magic encased fist, and sailed over the edge.

He plummeted down into the sea below.

Naruto wasted no time. He stretched his hand out beside him and a clone in sage mode puffed into existence. However, before he could dispel it, a huge blast of dark purple magic sailed straight toward him.

* * *

"Naruto!" Erza helplessly reached out toward him. An overwhelming feeling of something she couldn't describe suddenly welled up inside of her. She was being restrained by Gray and Elfman, the both of them looked just as shocked as she was. Mira had her hands on her mouth. Her eyes were wide and misty. Lucy couldn't believe what she had just witnessed.

They had regrouped with the others a little while ago. Just in time to see Naruto leaping out of the structure. They spotted a clone appear next to him, but then it happened.

They also saw Jose standing at the edge of the nearly destroyed guild hall with a magic circle aimed directly at the blonde.

"Death Wave!" The spell was too fast. The Fairytail guild members watched as the attack enveloped Naruto.

Erza stood there, feeling as if time had stopped. It couldn't be true. She didn't want to believe it. Maybe her eyes were playing tricks on her or something. Naruto couldn't be…..

She felt something warm streak down her cheeks.

* * *

Jose bore a triumphant smile as he gazed down at the sea. The brat was finally gone for good this time. Admittedly, he was quite persistent and his skills weren't bad either. It was such a shame that he had to be eliminated. He would have made a powerful subordinate. Sadly, the boy was too misguided.

Now that one obstacle was out of the way it was time to settle things. He made eye contact with Makarov, who was glaring at him.

"You're next, Makarov! Let's end this!" Jose yelled down at him.

Suddenly, a fist slammed into the right side of his face that sent him flying into several walls. He unsteadily rose to his feet and was shocked to see Naruto standing in front of him with his sage mode activated. He was suddenly lifted off the ground by the collar and the blonde threw him through another wall, sending him into another room.

Jose got back on his feet, but Naruto rammed his fist deep into his gut before he could do anything else. The man doubled over in pain and wheezed as he tried to inhale. A trickle of blood ran down the corner of his mouth.

"How did you survive?" Jose gasped, clutching his midsection.

Naruto smirked, "You weren't paying attention."

Misdirection is a form of deception in which the attention of a person is focused on one thing in order to distract its attention from another. A habit most people have is when two objects race past us, we tend to focus on the object moving faster. It was this principle that Naruto exploited.

 _As soon as Naruto summoned a clone to help propel him forward, he discreetly handed the clone one of his tri-pronged kunai. Thanks to his cloak flapping, it provided a good cover so that Jose couldn't see what he was up to. The instant the clone received the kunai he kicked off from the original, giving him a good boost._

 _Jose's eyes followed the original as he sailed over the edge, never noticing the clone hurled the kunai to the wall on his right…_

"You bastard!" Jose snarled. He rose to his feet and gathered a gargantuan amount of magic. Jose's power skyrocketed even further, causing the entire structure to quake. "I'll make sure you stay dead this time!"

As Jose began preparing for his final assault, Naruto summoned a clone next to him and was forming a rasengan on his palm. The hokage added his nature affinity to the sphere. The orb doubled in size and produced large rotating wind blades that sent a whirring sound throughout the room. The clone also took out Naruto's last tri pronged kunai.

Jose saw this action and smiled evilly. "You fool. I already know that you use those knives to transport yourself instantly. As long as I know the location of everyone of them, I can anticipate your moves. PREPARE TO DIE!"

Naruto didn't respond. He held the Rasenshuriken to his side and readied himself.

Jose roared. "Phantom Devastation!"

The clone threw the kunai to the left and Jose smirked. As soon as Naruto vanished, he aimed the spell at the kunai and let loose a large destructive blast of magic that could've leveled a small town. The result was destroying a third of what was left of his guild hall. He didn't care as long as the little brat was dead.

However, his moment of victory disappeared as soon as he heard a grinding sound behind him.

"It's over. Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!"

Time slowed down. Impossible! How did the boy get behind him? He was sure that he could only teleport to the daggers he threw. It didn't make any sense.

"Take this old man! Wind style: Rasengan!"

The blonde slammed the attack down onto the guild master's back. The sheer power behind it drove Jose flat into the ground. Once the jutsu diminished, Naruto tapped Jose's shoulder to mark him with the Flying Thunder god formula. This would be one of his aces up his sleeves, aside from the shadow clone gathering Nature energy, just in case something unexpected happened in the fight. Sometimes the tides of battle could be turned instantly like the flip of a switch.

Naruto leaped away from Jose, his victory was already assured…

Jose let loose an agonizing scream as he met his demise.

* * *

The guild members of Fairytail cheered when they saw Naruto slug Jose in the face. Erza was just relieved. She wiped away a few stray tears when she saw that the blonde was okay.

"What an asshole. Making us worry about him like that," Cana muttered. Although, the redhead could tell she was just as glad to see him unharmed. "I'm going to kill him for that stunt."

"Get in line." Erza told her.

"Count me in." Mira added.

Makarov overheard the girls talking and chuckled a little bit. He had also been worried about the lad for a moment there but it proved to be unnecessary when he showed up a moment later and punched his fellow wizard saint through a wall. It just begged the question: How on earth did he manage to avoid Jose's spell and transport himself in an instant?

The boy was full of surprises.

He was cut off from his thoughts when a sound of a huge explosion of some kind destroyed a huge chunk of the structure. Makarov knew that it must have been Jose's doing. He had felt his sudden spike in power even from this distance. Somehow, Naruto drove his fellow Wizard Saint to the brink which forced him to use his most powerful spell.

A minute after the explosion, Makarov felt another spike of powerful energy and a second explosion followed. It was even bigger than the last. A bright bluish white light emanated from inside of Phantom's guild hall. A gust of wind washed over them. It lasted only for a few moments and then it was gone.

A couple of the guild members were a bit stunned.

"What the hell was that?" Wakaba asked.

Makarov answered. "That, my dear fellow, was Naruto."

Everyone's heads swiveled to the master when they heard that.

"Are you serious?" Macao said. "Naruto did that?"

"Well who else could it be?" Makarov said with a hint of amusement in his voice. The expressions of the guild members were comical. It ranged from awe to wide-eyed disbelief.

There was a bit of silence for a while which was broken when Romeo was spotted running toward them. "Dad!"

Romeo enveloped his father in a hug. Macao was quick to return it.

"I thought I told you to stay at home son." Macao admonished lightly. The boy mumbled an apology but then Macao noticed something his son was holding. "What've you got there Romeo?"

The boy raised the object to show it to his dad. It was a strange tri pronged kunai with black writings on the handle.

"I found it on my way here." Romeo said. "It was lying on the ground next to some rocks."

He pointed over to an area that was full of rubble from their destroyed guildhall.

Just then, they heard a crumbling sound and saw the Phantom Lord guildhall beginning to crumble. Chunks of debris were beginning to fall and the entire structure shuddered. It was to be expected from the amount of damage it accumulated from the many battles that were fought.

"Oh no, Natsu and Naruto are still in there!" Lucy exclaimed.

Suddenly, everyone heard Macao and Romeo give a surprised yelp as Naruto suddenly appeared with Natsu. The two of them looked banged up a little bit. Before anyone could react, the pink-haired teen clutched his mouth and pushed people aside to get to some nearby bushes. He then bent over and threw up the contents of his stomach.

The blonde, on the other hand, noticed that everyone was staring at him so he only did what felt natural to him. Scratching the back of his head with a wide grin on his face. "Hey guys, we're back."

Everyone got over their initial surprise before erupting in loud cheers. They all swarmed him and pumped him for details. Others gave him pats on the back. They were all generally happy to see him.

"You gave us a heart attack Naruto." Macao told him.

Naruto looked sheepish. "Sorry about that."

"Here you go Naruto. I think this is yours." Romeo handed him one of his kunai.

The blonde ruffled the kid's hair. "Thanks."

Everyone made way for the master as he came forward. The old man smiled up at him.

"You did well my boy. Thanks to you, Phantom Lord was defeated." Makarov said.

Everybody cheered again. Naruto blushed a little bit due to all the attention.

Natsu came up to him after he finally finished retching and heaving. He was downright furious.

"That was the worst form of transportation I've ever had!" The teen said pointing an accusatory finger at him. "You could've at least warned me, you bastard!"

The blonde shrugged. "How was I supposed to know that it would affect your motion sickness, especially with the trip being instantaneous?"

"Grrr! That's it! You and me pal! Right here! Right now!"

Lucy came up and whacked the dragon slayer upside the head. "Give it a rest already Natsu." She said, exasperated.

Then three people emerged from the crowd. Naruto didn't know why, but he shuddered when he saw Erza, Mira, and Cana walking up to him with sweet smiles plastered on their faces.

"Hello, Naruto," Mira greeted with a honey filled voice. "We're so glad to know that you're okay."

Cana nodded, still smiling sweetly at him.

"We were so worried that something might have happened to you." Erza said. They all took one step closer and that was when Naruto felt intense killing intent. "Especially when we thought you were hit by Jose's magic when you fell."

It was then that the blonde paled when he saw the black aura of death surrounding the three women. He began to sweat profusely and started taking small steps back.

"Uh, w-well you see um, the thing is…." He desperately tried to come up with an explanation to appease the three angels of death that were bearing down on him. "H-how should I put this? Uh, I-it was an….accident?"

Naruto could see that they weren't buying it. The three women began cracking their knuckles while they still wore those sweet smiles. They looked like they wanted to murder somebody, him in particular.

"...I would start running now if I were you." Makarov advised.

 _'Good idea!'_ Naruto stared wide-eyed at something and pointed behind them. "Oh my god, what the hell is that?!"

Everyone, plus the three girls, looked behind them and saw nothing. They turned their attention back to Naruto, but only found a slight dust trail.

"NARUTO!" The three girls screamed and chased after the blonde. Everyone else just laughed at the blonde's misfortune.

* * *

A week after the whole ordeal with Phantom, things were beginning to dwindle back to normal. Well, as normal as you can get in Fairytail. The whole guild was back to its rowdy and destructive self in a matter of days.

Naruto sat on as stool at the makeshift bar they set up outside since they still had to rebuild the guild hall. Thanks to a small army of his shadow clones, the reconstruction was going rather smoothly. Everyone was pretty busy between mission requests and helping out with the construction.

Naruto on the other hand was taking it easy these past couple of days. Ever since the defeat of Phantom, the Rune Knights immediately came to do a full investigation on the incident. Each of the members was questioned. Master Makarov had to make a trip to Era to face the Magic Council. He tagged along because Mira told him it would be better if the master had a chaperone with him. In the end, the investigation concluded that Phantom was indeed the one who held the blame for this mess so no charges would be pressed against them.

He had been allowed to observe the meeting but he frowned as he recalled a few of the other council members complain about how Fairytail was once again causing a ruckus. Naruto briefly made eye contact with Seigrain, the blue haired man with past connections to Erza, and he could tell that the council man was just merely amused by the chain of events.

Although, underneath that confident exterior, Naruto saw a bit of uneasiness and annoyance Seigrain was trying to hide and it was directed at him.

The blonde was thankful when the meeting finally came to an end. For some reason one of the council members, a woman named Ultear he remembered, kept leering at him. Frankly, it made him really uncomfortable.

He was glad that this whole ordeal was finally over with. Politics, rules, and laws were a huge pain in the ass. Even if those things weren't, Naruto could say, with the exception of Yajima, he hated the Magic Council; and if it wouldn't have caused problems for the guild that had taken him in and treated him like family, he'd have beaten the smug bastards within an inch of their lives. Now he was contentedly enjoying a steaming bowl of ramen next to a bored looking Lucy and a half-naked Gray who hasn't noticed his lack of clothing yet sat on the other side of the girl.

"I'm sooo bored." Lucy complained. "There's nothing to do around here and job requests are really slow today."

"Don't worry about it, Lucy." Naruto said after inhaling his noodles. "I'm sure there must be an interesting job coming up soon."

The celestial spirit mage sighed. "That's easy for you to say. You actually got to keep what you were paid on your last accidental S-class mission. Erza refused to let us take the reward from the people on Galuna island. Now my rent's coming up and I'm short on cash."

Gray snorted. "We're lucky that was our only punishment. It could've been worse."

Just then an irritated Natsu came up to them with Erza following behind. The pink-haired teen plopped down on the chair on the other side of Gray while muttering something unintelligible. Erza sat next to Naruto.

"I'm guessing he lost again huh?" Naruto asked the red-head.

Happy the cat flew down and perched himself on Natsu's head. "Yep, Erza totally destroyed him."

"Next time for sure." Natsu grumbled, looking like someone took away his favorite toy or something.

Erza proceeded to order her regular strawberry cheesecake from Mira when she finally noticed something about the blonde next to her. Naruto caught her looking and grinned. "What do you think?"

Naruto was decked out in his new clothes. His new outfit consisted of a black ankle-length tailcoat, a high-necked waistcoat with gold accents, black jogger-style pants, brown-black winkle pickers, and a pair of red gloves. He had took off his forehead protector and tied it around his right arm, on his shirt sleeve. His hair looked a little bit more wild and untamed because of this but unknown to him, it only made him look more roguish and handsome in the eyes of the female population.

"I-I think you l-look very nice, Naruto." Erza inwardly cursed herself for the lame response. She was blushing a little bit and was thankful when Mira arrived with her cake so that he wouldn't notice.

"Maybe I should call the people at Sorcerer's Weekly." Mira said from behind the counter. "They could use another model. I wouldn't mind seeing you on the summer special page, Naruto."

The blonde and Erza blushed, Naruto because of the compliment and the fact that Mira wanted to see him in nothing but swim trunks or something. Erza was blushing because she couldn't help but imagine him in swimwear.

Mira giggled when she noticed her two flushed friends.

Then they heard Lucy stand abruptly from her stool and squeal in happiness. "Levy!"

Walking towards them was none other than Team Shadow Gear. Jet and Droy were finally healed thanks to their cranky healer, Porlyusica. Lucy engulfed her friend in a hug which she returned. Everybody was glad to see them up and about. Then the three of them approached Naruto.

"Hey guys, glad to see you-" He was interrupted when Levy suddenly hugged him tightly.

"Thank you so much, Naruto." Levy said when she pulled away.

"Yeah, if it weren't for you, Levy might have gotten hurt as well." Jet said.

Droy nodded. "We owe you one. You name it."

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "It's alright you guys. I'm never going to think twice about helping my friends."

Unfortunately, a loud and obnoxious voice just had to ruin the mood. "Ha! You guys are pathetic! Is this what our guild has deteriorated into? Is this just a guild full of weaklings? Gramps should just retire already."

Laxus was sitting alone on a table with an arrogant grin plastered on his face.

"Man, look at this place." Laxus said in that snarky tone of his. "If I'd have been here, none of this shit would've happened."

Mira slammed her hands on the bar angrily. "Well, you weren't here and that's that. The matter is settled, so there's nothing else you can do. Besides, when we tried getting your help, you refused!"

Laxus grunted and jerked a thumb over at team Shadow Gear. "None of this would've happened at all if these weaklings didn't get their asses handed to them. You three are a disgrace to this guild!"

Natsu couldn't take it anymore. He encased his fist in fire and charged. "Laxus!"

The man just smirked as the dragon slayer came closer. At the last second, he disappeared in a bolt of lightning, causing Natsu's punch to hit nothing but air.

"Too slow, you little punk!" The man said from behind him.

He was about to make another comment about the sorry state of their guild but stopped short as he felt something cool and metallic touch his neck. Everybody gasped as Naruto stood behind Laxus holding a tri pronged kunai to his jugular.

"You're not the only one who's quick to act around here." Naruto said. "I would hold my tongue if I were you. If I ever hear you insulting my friends again, nothing will keep you safe from me."

Laxus smirked. He once again disappeared in a bolt of lightning. He quickly appeared behind Naruto and put him in a one armed choke hold.

"Just because you beat that old fart Jose doesn't mean you can go toe to toe with me." Laxus said. He tensed when he felt a pointed tip touch him at the back of his neck. His eyes widened in surprise.

Another Naruto stood behind him with a similar kunai poised to strike. "Like I said before, you're not the only one who's quick to act. If you're never around when the guild needs you, but gonna run your mouth when the dangers over, you're nothing but a small dog trying to bark the loudest since you haven't got any fangs, asshole."

The guild members were sharing the same thoughts. ' _So fast!'_

There was tense silence that followed. Everyone in the guild could feel the heavy atmosphere. Any provocation from both sides might lead into a full out brawl between the two blondes. Laxus was literally throwing off sparks and Naruto tightened his grip on his weapon. If a fight broke out between these two, they might destroy half the town.

Everybody in the guild knew how powerful Laxus was. He wasn't an S-class wizard for nothing. However, Naruto was a mystery. He had yet to explain or to tell them how he defeated Jose, one who was a wizard saint, one of the ten most powerful wizards in the land. So far, they had yet to see Naruto lose to an opponent. The blonde always came out victorious over those he fought, whether it was Lullaby, Natsu, Gajeel, or Jose.

The bottom line was it wouldn't be pretty if the two decided to go at it.

"That's enough, the both of you!" Makarov ordered as he came on to the scene. You could tell he wasn't pleased by their behavior.

Naruto reluctantly obeyed. The clone Laxus had in a choke hold dispersed. Realizing that he was strangling a fake angered Laxus, but he chose to rein it in. The Dreyer saw the disapproving look his grandfather was giving him and he merely gave a disinterested grunt. He began to walk away, but not without having the final word.

"This guild will be mine one day old man, whether you like it or not. When that happens, there won't be any room for weak pieces of garbage. I'll make this guild into the most powerful one the world has ever seen."

He turned his head to glare at Naruto. "This isn't over, you little punk. Next time I see you, gramps won't be there to save your ass again. Watch your back."

* * *

Unbeknownst to the Fairytail guild members, a person hidden in shadows witnessed the whole proceedings with mild interest. His demon masters at Tartaros had tasked him with keeping an eye on this particular guild. After the whole misstep back at Lupinus, he was to ensure that mistakes like that would not be repeated in the future. They had grand schemes after all and his masters wanted him to observe a certain individual who might cause hindrances for them in the future.

"Naruto Uzumaki." The man mumbled to himself. He grinned. "This is going to be fun."


End file.
